Serendipity
by Kura-sama
Summary: The story of an unwilling slave and an arrogant taiyoukai. A power revealed in a time of crisis. Blossoming of unlikely friendship and tentative bonds, while the world hangs in the balance. SessKag. On Temporary Hiatus while I revise the whole thing
1. Prologue

A/N: Hello there! This is Kura here ^^ I've finally sorted out my jumbled mind enough to try to write a fic again (and hopefully continue it ...) The plot might be a bit cliche but I'm just a sucker for the master/slave stuff . so ... since currently I'm so hooked on Kagome/Sesshoumaru I decided to write a fic about them as master/slave ^^;; If my plot gets really similar to someone else's I apologize in advance but I really didn't copy anyone's!

I also plan to write an original story using a similar plot after / as I write this one ... I thought that it'll be easier for me to write if I use characters who already have a personality ... then after I succeed at that then I will create my own characters ^___^ 

Also, because I know some Japanese and I watched Inuyasha in Japanese, I will be using the Romaji spelling for the names and some Japanese terms like youkai, hanyou, etc. I think it's easier and more correct that way, since strictly youkai does not mean demon but that is the word used for lack of a better word. 

Summary: Kagome is an unwilling slave who was sold into a youkai lord's household. Things start to progress from there ... (I write the story as it flows ... so ... even I have no idea where this will end up ^^;; ) This fic is AU, though the settings are similar to Feudal Japan. Character relations and such are kept as closely to the actual series as possible. 

Parings: Hinted Inuyasha/Kagome; Sesshoumaru/Kagome; Hinted Inuyasha/Kikyou; Sango/Miroku; Hinted Naraku/Kikyou; Hinted Naraku/Kagome; we'll see what else comes up ...

Spoilers: The main characters and relations, some of the plot maybe. I do not think I will refer to specific incidents of the series, just using the characters and twisting the plot to fit my own *muhahhahahaa*

Rating: Right now, General because nothing's happening. No idea where it will end up. I'll see if there's any opportunity for lime/lemons to come up ... mild (very mild) swearing, because Technically there is no swear words in Japanese. 

A/N: The word Inuyasha always uses is "chikushou" which is defined as "a somewhat vulgar expression of annoyance and disappointment used in situations where many English speakers would probably swear", and the kanji for the word Literally means farm animals ... like cows and chicken etc. So .. it's more of an insult then a swear word and it's no where as rude as English. And "chikushou" is the just about the worst word in Japanese, and my Japanese teacher really don't mind us using it during presentations during class ... she does not deem it a bad enough word to ban from saying in class.

Some terms you must know for this fic (though you should know already probably ...) :  
youkai - demon (for lack of a better word; it actually means more like animal-spirit-creature type thingys... since demon in the English religious sense also means a servant of Satan / monster from hell etc. which would actually be akuma in Japanese ...)  
taiyoukai - great demon (highest class youkai, most powerful of their kind)  
hanyou - half demon (mixed human and demon)  
taijiya - demon exterminator (warriors who hunt and destroy demons)  
miko - priestess (technically, shrine maidens who have special purifying and healing powers, and well versed in medicinal herbs. Their preferred weapon is bow and arrows, each village usually have at least one miko to act as village healer/doctor and protection from attacks, mainly protection from youkai.)  
chikushou, shimatta, k'so - somewhat vulgar expressions of annoyance, where English speakers would probably swear (though it's no where as rude as English. A billion chikushou is not as bad as one F**k... it's more like darn, or heck.

Other terms used in this chapter (also please keep in mind for future reference):  
ookami - wolf  
inu - dog  
houshi - buddhist monk  
kazaana - the wind tunnel or void thingy in Miroku's hand

Disclaimer: I think the word disclaimer is pretty self-explanatory ... and this won't be called a Fan-fiction if it was the real thing _;; ...so... Obviously, like most other fanfic writers out there, I do not own the Manga/Anime series Inuyasha, though I like to play with Rumiko-sensei's characters and swoon over Sesshoumaru ... But my plot is my own ^______^ (even if it's crappy...it's my crappiness *muahahahaa* ^^;; )

Ok now, on with the story. The prologue is a run through of the world this is in, I know some of it probably is not important to the actual story, but I like to have the world and setting all nice and sorted out so the story will flow more smoothly. As I mentioned, I write as the story flows and does not know where it will end up, so the more organized it is the less chance of me losing the plot somewhere along the way. However, I do think a lot of this information will be relevant to understanding the story later, so please read ^^

Serendipity  
_~__ sometimes blessings are disguised in the most unexpected ways ..._

Prologue  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Even though youkai and humans were living in harmony and supposedly equal in the society, youkai had always been a step higher due to their superior physical abilities and supernatural powers. Youkai and humans alike understood that youkai are superior, and humans are only allowed to be considered equal because the youkai lords allowed it. 

Though there are many youkai who either looked down on humans, or liked to prey on the weak, there are also many kind-hearted youkai who lived in harmony with the humans in or near their villages. They helped defend the villagers in times of trouble, and the humans welcomed them. Villages which had peaceful youkai living among them had far less chance of being raided, by humans or youkai alike, than those who faired on their own or with only their miko to guard them.

Cases of human villages being raided, people being brutally murdered or maidens being raped by youkai were usual occurances and the youkai lords could care less what happened to the mangy humans infesting their lands like so much mice. The human lords tried to keep order as much as they can, but they did not dare to openly hunt youkai, especially higher-class youkai for fear of offending any youkai lords and courting their own deaths. 

Thus, the job of defending the humans from evil youkai fall to the taijiya, warriors who hunted and killed youkai criminals; these included humans and some youkai or hanyou. These warriors usually live in normal villages, and farmed like everyone else, the only exception being they also trained vigorously in combating and youkai-fighting skills, and hunting and tracking skills. Anyone is welcomed to join a taijiya village to train with them, they may choose to stay and settle in the village, or go back to their own village. A lot of people come and go in taijiya villages, coming to be trained by the experienced fighters and then going back to their own village to help defend it. Taijiya villages often took in orphans or wanderers whose villages were destroyed. There are also many wandering taijiya who did not really belong to any village, but traveled among them and hunted any youkai criminals along the way. 

As so many youkai and humans intermingle, many hanyou were born. Hanyou were generally weaker than the pure youkai breed they came from, but they could also be very powerful if their youkai parent was powerful. Some of the more powerful, pure-breed youkai looked down on and disliked hanyou, though most youkai did not openly shun them. Humans, however, did not mind hanyou. Usually hanyou were brought up in the human parent's village, and they were treated as an equal among the humans; to the humans, they viewed hanyou as a good line of defense for their village. 

Slaves were common in this era. Slaves were traded or sold like objects, and considered property of their owners. They would be expected to do whatever their master commanded, with no right to object; they were also punished severely for disobeying; and of course, they got no pay for their hard work. Even though many felt pity for the slaves, and treating slaves badly were looked down upon, using slaves were common and popular among the lords and upper-class. They were a lot cheaper and easier to keep than servants, and no one would question why a slave disappeared mysteriously. Legally, capturing free citizens and selling them into slavery was not allowed, but it was done nonetheless; children of slaves were doomed to also be slaves.

There were human slaves as well as youkai slaves, though mostly only youkai lords kept youkai slaves. Human slaves were plentiful; countless of them were needed to keep a lord's castle and lands running. The only way for slaves to be free is if their master set them free, or if someone bought their freedom from their master. Even though a slave was allowed to buy their own freedom, it is virtually impossible for a slave to obtain any money at all.

In this era, the land was generally divided into four parts, a bit like countries. The Northern, Southern, Eastern, and Western, lands each had a Ruling Lord over the lands. In the four lands, each had plenty lesser lords with their own individual castle, lands, and villages. These lesser lords paid fealty to the Ruling Lord, in exchange for protection from the other lands. Two of the four lords were youkai, one of them a hanyou, and one is a human. Due to the different nature of the lords, the populations in the four lands also differ greatly. 

Lord of the Northern Lands, ookami-youkai Kouga, was kind though rash. He hated being confined to his castle, and usually left his advisors in charge while he roamed his lands with his pack. He saw nothing wrong with being with humans, and openly befriended anyone along his way. His lands had the largest human population, as humans did not fear him as much and thought him as being able to defend them well. Only a few youkai villages resided in his lands however, as many did not approve of his closeness to humans.

Lord of the Southern Lands, human Miroku, was a lecherous houshi who was cursed by Naraku. The curse of the kazaana in his left hand was passed down from his father, who had offended Naraku in some way and begot this curse as punishment. Eventually the kazaana will grow to consume the person, thus his father, and now him, had been searching far and wide for a cure to this curse. He was almost always traveling and searching; his advisors looked after his lands. Since he was a human, mainly just humans lived in his lands. There were almost no youkai villages, though there still were the many youkai who lived among humans villages.

Lord of the Eastern lands, hanyou Naraku, was the shadiest of the four. Though he did not do anything outrageous openly, rumors surrounded him about his shadowy dealings and practice in necromancy. He was known to be cruel and heartless; he took pleasure from watching others suffer. He was the most feared of the four lords. His lands were constantly in turmoil; only the black-hearted humans and youkai lived in his lands. He found the small wars between his vassal lords amusing, and only intervened when things got out of hand enough to damage himself or his lands. 

Lord of the Western Lands, inu-taiyoukai Sesshoumaru, detested humans due to their weak nature; however he kept strict order in his lands, never tolerating any violations of his laws. He did not detest humans as much as he detested anything weak, as he is one of the few, and one of the strongest taiyoukai alive. His lands were the most peaceful; everyone, youkai or human, all knew the brutal way in which he dealt with criminals. He was known to destroy anything and everything that dared to be in his path, but he did not prey on innocent beings. Thus there were many peaceful human villages in his lands, as well as a large number of youkai ones.

And here, in this era, begins the story of the unwilling slave who's fire would melt ice, and change it all ...

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hope that wasn't too boring, I'll try to get Chapter one, the actual beginning of the story up sometime soon . Please review and let me know how it was so I may improve my work ^^

~Kura


	2. I will not succumb!

Ok! I've finally found time to write more of the story, thank you all who reviewed the Prologue, nice to know it didn't suck . (My English teacher is extremely harsh, she literally analyze and diss our essays to pieces T___T doesn't do much for a girl's confidence in her writing skills u__u) Replies to reviews will be at the end of the chapter ^^

Rating: Ahem! The rating has now gone up no PG-13 . (I think that's high enough ... for now...) Nothing explicit happening, but there's implied rape, implied brutal slaughter, and for some language.

_Italics - _dreams / flashback  
_"Italics" -_ thoughts  
[blahblah] - author notes or translations (for if I write whole sentences in Japanese ... Sometimes I just think it's more emotional that way? .)

Terms to know (only the new ones, refer back to prologue for others):  
Okaasan - mother  
mama - familiar, or more childish way to call mother  
Ji-chan - familiar way to call grandfather  
Katana - Japanese sword  
hanashite - Let go

Serendipity  
_~ sometimes blessings are disguised in the most unexpected ways ..._

Chapter 1  
I will not succumb!

* * *

_Fire ... fiery hungry flames licking at everything, burning ...._

_Burning all she knew, all she had, all she loved in her short 10 years of life into a crisp ..._

"...Souta! Okaasan! Ji-chan!..."

_"Souta! Okaasan! Ji-chan!" Kagome screamed desperately, despair filling her soul, fear tearing at her heart. _

_"Where are you!!!" she screamed from the broken pieces of her heart, of her soul, of her life._

"...no...don't leave me...Noo!!"

_"Noo!! Don't leave me, don't!! Where are you??! Okaasan!!" She frantically searched the blazing ruins of her beloved village, but everywhere, everything she could see was in flames, and all she could hear was the angry roaring of the hellish inferno and the anguished moans and desperate screams of the other villagers._

_Kagome crawled to the charred remains of her humble little shrine, which had been her warm, loving home for the past decade. Weakly pushing herself onto her knees, she looked around for her family. Her eyes widened at the still form of her grandfather sprawled on the wooden floor of the shrine, the shrine he loved so much and fought to his death to defend._

_"Ji-chan...? Ji-chan!!" Kagome frantically rushed to his side, awkwardly crawling across the ruined room. She shook him, her innocent mind unable to comprehend why her dear grandfather would not answer her. She stared dumbly at the katana protruding out of her grandfather's body where his heart would be, and the pool of blood she is currently sitting in._

_Horrified, even if she did not truly understand what was happening, she backed away slowly, tripping over her own blood-soaked kimono in her blinding fear. She didn't even notice when her shoulder banged against one of the upturned table's wooden leg painfully, or when her hands were cut by the broken pieces of the vase on the floor. All she was aware of was the stillness of her grandfather, reminding her so much of when her father left and never came back; when he became so still nothing she did could arouse him; when he stayed unresponsive while she screamed her heart out and her throat raw. Then they took him away in that hateful wooden box they called a coffin, and she never saw him again._

_Suddenly, Kagome heard a familiar voice screaming desperately. Spinning around to face the voice, Kagome's eyes impossibly widened even more at the sight of her mother being pinned down by bandits and her baby brother Souta being torn out of her mother's arms and thrown aside in the shrine's yard._

"...Okaasan!! Let my mother go! Okaasan o hanashite..."

_"Okaasan!! Watashi no okaasan o hanashite!! Onegaishimasu!!" _[Mother!! Let my mother go!! Please, I beg you!!]

_Kagome shot up, not feeling the pain in her petite body as she ran to her mother. She tried to batter away the man on her mother, but he just laughed and ignored her pitiful attempts. The other two bandits just leered and looked on, their eyes darkening with lust. Finally, Kagome could not stand the brute tearing the remains of her mother's tattered kimono off; she placed her little hands on his shoulder and bit down viciously. The foul taste of his blood and sweat assaulted her delicate tongue, before she could even respond in any way she was flung across the yard. She hit the ground hard, scrapping her tender skin against the rough ground. _

_"...mama..." she whispered brokenly, her whole frame shaking uncontrollably as her body was wreaked with a fit of painful coughing. Pushing herself up slightly, she turned to where her mother was._

_"No! Kagome, don't look! Run away, Kagome, ru-" her mother's cries were cut off abruptly as the man slapped her hard across her face, and Kagome could see blood dribbling from the side of her mother's lips. _

_Kagome was frozen, she could only stare at the scene of the man ramming in and out of her mother in grotesque fascination, the way one would stare at a mutilated corpse: disgusted, terrified, yet unable to turn away. Her young mind did not know what he was doing, but she knew it was bad and it was hurting her mother. For the first time in her loving heart, she felt an ugly dark streak of hate. _

_She looked back to her grandfather's body, her vision zooming in on the protruding katana. A broken shriek from her mother caused her to jolt nauseatingly, and she whipped her head back to her mother. She thought she would thrown up, as she saw the man on her mother roll off with a content look and moved aside as one of the other two loosened his pants and grabbed her mother's long legs. Her mother shrieked again as he thrust into her brutally. _

_Her mind made up, she moved silently to his grandfather's side. Her hands closed firmly and purposely around the hilt. With a sickening sound, she yanked the katana free from it's bloody sheath. She looked hatefully at the men causing her mother pain; they were too intently watching her mother to notice her movements. She remembered during her archery lessons from her Ji-chan that shooting the head, neck, or heart was the most effective way to quickly kill someone. Of course, she was a miko in training and her job was only to kill evil youkai, but at that moment, she understood that evil is evil, no matter what form it may take. _

_Holding the blade confidently, she walked to the first man to hurt her mother. He was about two feet away from the others, eyes half closed in a sort of dazed look, watching absently as the other man hurt her mother. She looked at his exposed neck, then lifted her katana. The man seemed to finally notice her, as he turned towards the glint of the steel blade. His eyes widened, pure utter fear flitted across his face for a moment before Kagome severed his head in one smooth, determined stroke. His strangled cry efficiently cut off. Kagome smiled, glad that she was able to put an end to the reason of her mother's hurt._

_The other two did not notice what had transpired only two feet away from them at all, so focused they were on hurting her mother. Kagome frowned, she felt the streak of hate in her heart growing, consuming her whole body in a hideous black haze. It was almost tangible, like a dark cloud around her. She padded silently behind the one standing there, watching her mother. Jerking her hands up, she thrust with all the strength of a desperate 10-year-old little girl, plunging the hard steel into the back of the monster in front of her, where she knew his heart would be. The man shuddered, grabbing the end of the blade protruding from his heart, staring at it in disbelief. His body convulsed as he fall, turning around to pin her with a scathing look of hatred. _

_Letting go of the blade, Kagome felt slightly uneasy at the look in his eyes, and the blood now scattered on her face and arms. However, any thoughts she might have had disappeared as a hand roughly grabbed her by her neck and hauled her abruptly forward to stare into the eyes of the man on her mother. _

_"You!" he spat out. "How dare you!" he shrieked in rage as he proceeded to strangle her. _

_"No! Let my daughter go!" her mother cried desperately. The man loosened his hold on Kagome slightly, only to backhand her mother. _

_"Shut up, whore!" he roared as he reached for the katana at his side and slashed across her mother's throat. _

_Kagome went rigid in shock, as her beloved mother's blood splattered onto them. For a moment, everything faded into the background. All she saw was her mother's blood, a dark red haze clouding over her mind. _

_"MAMA!!!" Kagome screamed in anguish. _

"MAMA!!!" Kagome jolted awake, staring unseeingly at the blank gray wall in front of her. She sat like this for a while, caught up in the pain of the past.

"Hey, you there! What are you thinking, screaming like that in the middle of the night! Some of us are trying to sleep you know!" came the annoyed shout from the slave in the cell beside hers. 

Kagome was jolted out of her daze, and she sheepishly apologized. A snort was all she got in response as she heard whoever it was shift and go back to sleep. Kagome sat on the cold floor of the dank cell, shakily wiping off the tears on her face, shivering slightly from the reoccurring nightmare. She remembered passing out after witnessing her mother's slaughter, and when she woke up it was a week later in the possession of a group of slave traders. From what she gathered, the slave-traders happened upon the ruins of the village by chance, and found her unconscious body. She was the only survivor.

However, what she did not understand was why they said the entire village was obliterated in a shallow, but large circular crater, with not even as a single blade of grass on it. There was no other bodies, though there were a lot of blood stains on the ground. They found her lying in the middle of the crater, unharmed though bloody. She had remained unconscious for a week after they took her in. The slave-traders took care of her well, though that was only because they did not want to waste such a good catch as a young, pretty little girl slave. She would fetch a good price, thus she was not to be damaged in any way before she could be trained and sold. 

Even now, she still did not know what happened before she lost consciousness. She had refused to eat or talk during the first week of her capture after she woke up. That particular group of slave traders were not cruel, they did not treat her overly badly. She was treated decently, for a slave. Mainly she had been just locked up in a room the size of a oversized closet while she stayed unresponsive and curled into a tight ball. 

The necklace from her mother as her tenth birthday present was still intact and around her neck through the ordeal, and she drew comfort from the last bit of her mother, of her family that she had left. It was a simple, but pretty blue gem on a plain silver chain. She knew her mother must have spent a lot on it, far more than she should have, for her family was poor even if they were able to get along. However, her mother only smiled and said that her baby was worth more than anything in the world, and told her that as long as the necklace was with her, she would watch over her always with her love. [A/N: I know there's too much "her" in the sentence, hope it's not too confusing ^^;;]

_"Do not wallow in your misery. Even if the world is against you, and everything seemed bleak and hopeless, believe in yourself and a better tomorrow. Have faith in life, Kagome, always have faith in life. Smile at your fears, and eventually, you will learn to overcome anything and everything. Believe in yourself, the way I believe in you."_ Her mother's words had resounded in her clouded mind, clearing away the pain and despair. Her mother had said this to her, time and again, when she was heartbroken over her father's sudden death. Her mother had wanted her to always have hope, and always believe in life. 

10 days Kagome had curled in the closet-room, ignoring everything and everyone. However, she had slowly broken out of the prison of her anguished mind. On the 11th day, her eyes had cleared and she actually managed to see past her despair. 

_"Mother wanted me to believe in myself, believe in life, believe in a better tomorrow. She would have wanted me to keep living, no matter what happened."_ Kagome had made her decision then: she would live her life to the fullest, not matter what life may bring, and what cruel jokes fate might choose to play on her. She would not disobey her mother, and make her sad even if she was not with her anymore. 

Kagome sighed, shifting slightly on the uncomfortable ground. It had been 5 years since she became a slave. 5 years since she lost her loving shelter from the harsh realities of this world. At first the slave-traders has tried to train her into a bed slave because of her pretty face; she would fetch an even higher price because she would be an untouched, young, and pretty bed slave. However, when they came up close and personal with her fiery temper and rather sharp teeth, they had to rethink their decision. They could not very well train her using whips or other forms of physical punishment, for fear of scarring her pretty skin. Bed slaves could not have any flaws in their physical appeal. 

Thus, she was trained to be a house slave: sewing, cleaning, cooking, etc. She had been exceptionally good at what she did, especially cooking. In fact, she had been so good at being a house slave that the group of slave traders decided to keep her to clean their own den. Also, as she is now a house slave, she would fetch a higher price when she was older. The customers did not often want children as house slaves, many of them would rather have them in bed. 

She had stayed with them for two years, until one day a visitor from another slave-trader group set their lustful eyes on her. Apparently, they had found her to be a beauty and would be wasted as a house slave. They bought her off the other group, and set about to train her to be a bed slave again. This time however, they had other means to torture her. 

Kagome fingered the solid, dark iron bands around her neck, wrists and ankles, shuddering slightly at the memory of the pain they could cause. The second slave-trader group had been cruel and relentless in their training. The iron bands on her hold powerful spells of torture; it was worse than anything she could imagine, red hot spikes of pure agony tearing at every cell of her being. This torture would leave no scars, and hurt more than any physical pain one could possibly deal. This pain would tear at her immediately at any open disobedience, or when her master say a word of command to punish her.

She had been taught all the possible ways to pleasure someone, female or male. She was almost glad that a virgin would fetch a higher price, for it kept her from being violated during her trainings. It had taken almost a year to train her into the perfect bed slave, for she had been extremely difficult every step of the way. It had just caused her more pain, but she refused to be submissive, nor would she be broken. Even though she was forced to endure this shame, she was determined to survive whole, in both body and mind. 

At first, the slave-traders had been worried that her fiery spirit might cause trouble. However, they reasoned that it might actually make her more valuable, since many of the customers were getting tired of dull broken dolls, or too submissive slaves. She would be something new, something of interest. 

As soon as her trainings were done, word was sent out that they had the perfect fiery bed slave for auction. She had been made to strut to and fro in front of countless lustful lords. However, fate had been merciful that one time, she had not been bought by some ugly cruel lord to play with. 

Kagome smiled slightly in her wistful reverie, thinking of the almost happy times she had spent with her first lord. She had been bought by a powerful human lord from the Southern lands, as a gift to his son as his 16-year-old birthday present. Young Lord Hojo had been horrified that his father had bought him a slave, and a bed slave at that. When she was sent to wait on him in his chambers that night, Hojo had been red as a tomato and stuttering uncontrollably. Kagome was immensely relieved that Hojo did not want her services at all, and gladly told him so. He had been a bit surprised at first, but understood when she explained how she came to be a slave. They became good friends immediately.

However, the good times did not last nearly as long as she had wished. Two years since she was bought into Hojo's household, their lands were attacked. As they had been near the borders of the Eastern and Southern lands, they were regularly subjected to raids from bandits from Naraku's domain. Normally, they had no trouble defending themselves as they were extremely powerful, but that time it had been a mostly youkai invasion. 

A tear slid down Kagome's pale, already tear-streaked cheeks, her heart full of sorrow at being separated from the first and only true friend she had since the destruction of her village. The lord of the household escaped with Hojo, bringing along a handful of loyal guards and only a few close personal servants. Slaves were not worth the trouble, and no matter how Hojo begged his father, they abandoned her to fend for herself in the deserted castle along with the other slaves. 

Most of the slaves did not bother to try to run for it, for they knew if they ran they probably would just be killed. Normally, invading forces did not kill the slaves, they much prefer taking the slaves for themselves; the slaves were considered property, just like the castle and land they were taking over. No point in destroying their own spoils. 

That was how she ended up here in this dungeon cell along with the other slaves. She had purposely made herself dirty and disgusting with the soot and oil from the kitchen, purposely marred her beautiful face with dirt so that they would not noticed her and take her as a bad slave, the very fate she had been trying to escape from ever since she became a slave. 

Kagome frowned at how dirty she was, she felt so extremely ... icky. 

_"Oh well"_ she thought, _"at least it kept me safe"._ She did not doubt for a second that if she had not made herself so disgusting, she would have been taken to be some ugly youkai's fuck toy like the many of the other female slaves taken. Almost all the young females were taken, except for her and a few others who were also smart enough to try to disguise themselves. 

Kagome drew her knees close to herself, and stared forlornly at her feet. She pondered on the meaning of the nightmare, _"I haven't had that nightmare in such frequency in a while now ... could be it a sign of something bad to come?"_

In the first few months after the destruction of her village, she had had this same nightmare every night without fail, always leaving her feeling terrified and wretched when she woke up. As time passed, the nightmare decreased in frequency, it came every other day, then a few times a week, slowly decreasing into once a week, until she only had it about once per month. She had also grown accustomed to having the nightmare, it no longer tore at her the way it used to. However, the few moments of pure terror she would always feel right before she woke up never diminished. It never failed to leave a cold, nauseating lump in her stomach. 

_" I wonder what happened to the village when I went unconscious, I wonder why was I alone left alive and unharmed in that crater." _Kagome's thoughts once again drifted to why she was still alive. In a way, she felt guilty for being the sole survivor, and also slightly guilty for killing those 2 men. However, she did not regret it, they deserved it for hurting her mother. 

_"Mama...Ji-Chan...Souta...I miss you so much..."_ Unable to control her tears, she silently cried herself into an uneasy, exhausted sleep. Just before the darkness of sleep blanketed her, her mind drifted to the inevitable question hanging heavily over her,

_"I wonder, what will happen to me now?"_

* * *

Whew! I managed to get another chapter done! This chapter is to mainly explain Kagome's past ... and how she became a slave. Hope it was not confusing toggling back and forth from her thinking about her past and her present state. (You can tell that she's sitting in the cell reminiscing ... right? ^^;;) Hope it was satisfying! ^____^ 

Again, please review ... to boost my confidence a bit? ^^;; It's nice to know someone's actually reading this, gives me incentive to write faster~ 

Review Responses:

CometsChaos & Aaringo: I'm glad you thought my story interesting!

Garnet-Crystals: Yes, it will end up being Kag/Sess eventually ... ^^

conscience fairy : I'm glad you think my writing is good ^___^ There will be hinted Naraku/Kagome, but in the end it will be Kag/Sess . I love Naraku/Kagome too, but this fic was meant to be Kag/Sess. I most probably will write another fic featuring Nar/Kag!

Again, thanks to all those who reviewed! Those that reviewed from A Single Spark I'm sorry, but it got sent to junk mail and I forgot to put it into inbox and got lost when the Junk folder cleared itself .! But I will remember to save them and put responses next time!

~Kura

Next Chapter: Kagome finds herself under a new master, who is very interested in her, and just might forcefully take her as a bed slave, what will she do?


	3. More Youkai

Wah! Spring break is over T___T It felt so short!! And our Japanese teacher just Have to start the new term with a huge project ... go figure . at least this project don't seem like a whole ton of work ... I hope. We started MacBeth in English today! It would have been cool if we didn't just write 1 hour of notes as our teacher went on and on about Shakespeare's life ... and if we didn't have to havea quiz on him next class. Report card came back today ... my average dropped T____T but in general it wasn't so bad ... x_X ... Oh! And our math teacher has just lost his mind. Our assignment due tomorrow is "If math was an animal, what would it be. Must include hand-drawn picture. Doesn't have to be real animal." I feel like kinder-garden all over again! Oh well, enough of my babbling and on with the fic!

Also, Thank You to all who reviewed!

Rating: Due to a review I got, the reader thought the rape and violence in chapter 1 is more than PG-13 and should be rated R, I have decided I shall change the rating to R so no more people would be offended. 

_"Italics"_ - thoughts  
-_Italics_- - annoying inner voices XD  
~~~~~~ - scene change 

Terms to know (refer back to previous chapters for words already mentioned):  
Kami - God

Serendipity  
_~ sometimes blessings are disguised in the most unexpected ways ..._

Chapter 2  
More Youkai ...

* * *

Kagome groggily sat up, trying to figure out what had woken her up.

"Hey! What's all the ruckus?" she heard someone shout, irritation and sleep clear in his voice.

Kagome slowly sat up and peered out the metal bars of her small cell, wondering what in the world could be going on with all the commotion she could hear. She tilted her head slightly, concentrating on the sounds, trying to discern what was it that she was hearing.

Sitting up straighter, she stared out the metal bars of her cell in incomprehension. The loud shouting and sounds of metal clashing sounded like someone was fighting just outside the dungeon. 

"Hey, are they fighting? What is going on?!" someone else asked in bewilderment.

_"My thoughts exactly."_ Kagome thought, pushing her tear and dirt streaked face against the cold bars, trying to get a better sense of what was happening. _"Those youkai just took over the castle yesterday, why would there be fighting? Is someone else trying to take over the castle already?!"_

After a final big clank and thud of a sword and body hitting the ground, the fight was over as suddenly as it had begun. 

Kagome heard the sounds of someone picking up the huge ring of keys to all the dungeon cell's gates, and whoever it was sauntering down the aisle in the direction of her cell. Trying to see who it was, Kagome watched intently, waiting for the person to walk into her line of sight. 

Blinking in surprise, Kagome took in the visage of the fur clad youkai sweeping his eyes over each and every of the slaves here with her in the dungeon. She noticed the splashes of blood trickling down one side of his face, and covering all of the hand and arm absently twirling the ring of keys. 

_"Seems like some other youkai did take over the castle ..."_ Kagome shivered slightly at the thought, correctly deducting the blood to be probably of those guard situated at the entrance to the dungeon.

"Yo Ginta, the humans kept here all seem like slaves." The youkai shouted over his shoulder, turning around slightly. Kagome observed the youkai with interest, especially his spiky white hair like a white disc sitting vertically atop his head. The youkai wore black armor around his chest, with fur covering his hips. What seemed like a straggly brown tail sprouted out from his back.

"What do you think we should do about them Hakkaku?" Another youkai came into Kagome's view, wearing similar armor with fur. This one had short spiky white hair with a black patch in the middle, and fur covering his shoulders as well. 

"I duno, let's go ask Kouga what he wants with them. They'll make a tasty dinner for the wolves at least." The youkai called Hakkaku replied, walking back towards the entrance, the other following close behind. Soon they were lost to Kagome's eyes and ears.

_"I wonder, what will happen to me now?__" _Kagome once again wondered, this time with slightly more trepidation. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"You stupid wimpy wolf, stop bugging me!" Inuyasha hollered, finally ... or rather, not so finally loosing his temper ... again.

"Dog breath, do you think I want to be stuck here talking to you?!" Kouga shouted right back, "I would have handled everything on my own with my tribe, you didn't have to come along too!"

"Keh! What are you talking about, those humans asked Sesshoumaru for help and he sent me, you were the one tagging alone! Besides, now that the problem is solved, why don't you take your weak tribe and go lick your wounds somewhere else huh? You really must be weak if you let those low level youkai injure you." Inuyasha scoffed, arms crossed against his chest. He did not like being in the same place as the stupid wolf, he knew they would start clawing each other's throat out soon, they always do.

"Well I already offered to come instead so it was you who really shouldn't have tagged along!" Kouga refused to let the hanyou get the better of him. 

Hakkaku and Ginta walked into the room, indecisive on whether it would be good for their health if they interrupted their current staring match. Hakkaku decided if they did not risk it now, they would probably end up trying to break off their fight, which would be even more hazardous.

"Kouga, we found a bunch of slaves in the dungeon. What should we do with them?" Hakkaku asked, steeling himself to prepare to take the blunt of Kouga's rage if he should decide to redirect it on him. 

"What? Slaves? Why use do we have for slaves?" Kouga stared at Hakkaku, obviously at a loss of what to do. 

Hakkaku let out a sigh of relief when he was sure that Kouga was not going to take out his anger on him, his showers slightly slouching as he visibly relaxed.

Inuyasha 'Keh!'ed at Kouga, then addressed the other two wolves. 

"Well, that toad Jaken has been complaining about not enough slaves at the castle. I don't think the humans would mind us taking a couple of slaves after getting the castle back for them."

"Well dog face, I really don't care what you did. I'm going to stay here for a while until all of my tribe has recovered and rested before we set off again." Kouga bit out, obviously still very much pissed at Inuyasha, "You may stay too if you keep out of my sight." 

"I don't need your consent to stay here!" Inuyasha raged, "I'll do whatever I want, and maybe I won't have to beat you to a bloody pulp if you stayed out of **my** way."

Hakkaku decided it would be a good time to try to stop their usual argument now, or else they would keep at it until someone went down in a bloody mess, and Hakkaku did not think he wanted to be that bloody mess. 

"Inuyasha-sama, maybe you should go pick out which slaves you want? And what should we do about all of them, we can't very well just leave them in the dungeons." 

Inuyasha gave Kouga one last hard glare full of venom before he stalked off towards the door, snatching the keys out of Hakkaku's hand when he held it out. He would hear Kouga still muttering about stinky tag-along dogs as he stomped down to the dungeons.

"Keh! I don't know why I haven't finished that stupid wolf yet." Inuyasha muttered to himself.

-_Thats because he the Lord of the Northern Lands, so you're not allowed to do something as stupid as starting a war with the Northern Lands. Sesshoumaru would have your hide._-

"K'so, who asked you anyway!" Inuyasha glared at nowhere in partucular. "Chikushou, I can't believe I'm talking to myself. Being in that stupid wolf's presence is really getting to me."

Without realizing it, Inuyasha's already at the dungeons. He wrinkled his nose at the stench from the slaves, trying not to get knocked out by the putrid smell. _"Do these humans Never bath?"_ He wondered vaguely as he viewed the slaves sitting in the cells stretching down both sides of the aisle he was currently walking through. 

Stopping somewhere near the center, he addressed them in distaste, his dog-like ears flattening against his silver hair.

"Listen here you useless humans, I am Lord Inuyasha of the Western Lands, and I have driven out the youkai that had taken over this place. Your lord should be returning here in a few days. I want you all to go get a bath for Kami's sake, and get back to whatever it is you do here normally. Do you hear me!"

A mummer of 'Yes, master.' swept through the dungeon. 

As Inuyasha opened the cells one by one, Kagome observed the hanyou. She noticed he did not wear any shoes, and was dressed simply in a puffy bright red kimono. Kagome thought he looked very handsome, with his long silver hair flowing down his back to his upper thigh, intense amber eyes, and puppy-like dog ears.

_"Wait a second ... Dog Ears?!" _Kagome started at this discovery, staring intently at the hanyou's pointed furry ears twitching slightly atop his silver hair. _"But didn't youkai all had pointed ears? I wonder ... is he a hanyou?"_

Kagome continued to stare at Inuyash's twitching ears, lost in thought and wonder. _"I bet it would be really soft..."_

"You there, wench, stop staring at me like that!" Inuyasha glared at Kagome, opening her cell. "You look like you've never seen a hanyou before."

"Not one with cute puppy ears like that I haven't." Lost in her thoughts, Kagome was caught unawares when he talked to her, and didn't think it through before she answered him automatically on reflex. She had not notice that he was already at her cell.

Realizing her mistake, that she had just talked back to a hanyou who was possibly her new master, Kagome froze in shock and fear. Her face drained of any color, she kneeled before the hanyou at once, bowing until her hands and forehead was pressed against the cold floor at his feet.

"I am very sorry master. I did not mean to talk without permission, please forgive this lowly slave." It hurt her pride to talk this way, but the lessons taught with pain were not forgotten, and Kagome squashed the little piece of pride trying to get out, stomping it back into it's prison in the deepest corner of her mind where she kept all such useless emotions. Any pride or dignity in a slave would only ensure his or her own demise, and a most painful one at that. Kagome did not survive 5 years in slavery to die because she was too busy ogling a hanyou to think before she blurted out her thoughts to said hanyou. 

Inuyasha stared at the young human girl who stared at him, now groveling at his feet. 

"Keh!" He muttered before moving on to the next cell, opening the gate and letting the slave in it out. Just as he was about to go to the next one, he froze in mid-step. Swerving around to glare at the girl, he shouted in disbelief,

"Did you just say I have **cute puppy ears??!!**" 

Kagome froze in the middle of getting up, at once prostrating at his feet again.

"Please forgive this filthy slave, I did not think before I speak." Kagome cursed herself for saying something so stupid in the hanyou's presence, was she out of her mind? Did she not swear to stay alive no matter what? Now she was going to die because she thought a hanyou's puppy ears were cute and was stupid enough to say it out loud. _"Your carelessness will be the end of you, Kagome."_ She berated herself. 

Inuyasha stared at the strange slave girl, wondering what in the world could be wrong with her. _"I can't believe she was stupid enough to actually say it out load, didn't she get trained?! She might be trouble if I brought her back with me, I really don't think Sesshoumaru would tolerate a slave daring to talk at all."_

Deciding to let it slide for now, since she was not his slave and thus not his problem anyway, Inuyasha spoke to the top of her head. 

"Make sure it does not happen again if you care for your useless life." Turning back to what he was doing, he ignored the human girl still on her knees. 

Kagome stayed on the ground for a moment, then decided she was not going to visit her mother and family just yet, and got up. Glancing at the hanyou's back one more time, she obediently went to wash herself, glad to be rid of all the dirt on her.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Kagome dried her hair as best as she could with the towel as she got out of the servant's bathing room, feeling better at once to be clean again. Stopping at the entrance to the bathing room, she suddenly realized she had nothing to do.

_"That hanyou said to do whatever we did normally," _she thought in dread _"but normally would mean I should be staying inside my master's chambers at all times, or following him around if he should request my services elsewhere." _She felt a shiver of disgust snaking down her spine, she hated thinking of what 'her services' meant. _"Normally I would be accompanying Hojo-kun most of the time, or sit reading in his library. I doubt that the youkai here would allow a slave to enter a library."_

Now at a loss to what to do, Kagome stared dumbly at the floor. Deciding she really did not have anything at all she could do, she wandered out into the gardens. _"I guess I'll just stay somewhere out of the way and ask the other slaves for something I could help out with tonight at dinner or something. I don't think disturbing them in their work is a good idea, it'll be painful if someone saw slaves slacking off talking. Or worse, if it's a youkai with their superior sense of hearing they might very well hear what we say and wonder why I did not have anything to do and ask for what job I was supposed to do." _She couldn't help but wince slightly at the thought.

Settling in the shadows under a large tree, Kagome shivered slightly from the slightly chilled breeze. Fall was coming fast, if the yellowing leaves of the trees around her were any indication. Sitting there idly, she was suddenly hit with a wave of despair and longing for her family. Biting back her tears, she stared blankly at the bush in front of her. 

_"You just have to choose the worst time to feel homesick, don't you Kagome."_ She thought bitterly at herself. Sobbing uncontrollably in the gardens of the castle full of unfriendly youkai must be the stupidest thing she could do yet. About once every couple month or so she would be hit with a wave of loneliness and homesickness so hard that she could not help but cry uncontrollably for hours. Usually this occurred sometime near when she would have the nightmare. She had always managed to hide away somewhere when this happened in the past, a slave would not be missed as long as she did her work before she took off. 

Taking deep, calming breaths, Kagome tried to clear her mind of any thoughts of her deceased family, thinking instead on that strange hanyou. _"Why did he not punish me for talking back so disrespectfully? Could he actually be nice?"_ She thought back to the incident in the cell, she did not understand why he just chose to ignore her. _"Maybe he won't be so bad ... he has the cutest ears! And his eyes, such beautiful eyes..."_ Kagome soon became lost in her daydreaming, unaware of the youkai moving steadily closer to her.

* * *

Yes! Another chapter done~ I didn't think it would drag out to be so long and I didn't get to where I originally planned to get to in the story ... Oh well, I thought the chapter was a bit bland, but I didn't want to drag out this chapter too long. The chapter's a bit shorter than the one before .... I thought that had been a good place to end the chapter ... if I go on it'll drag on to who knows where before another good ending place come up again. Don't worry, more things will happen soon! 

PS: Remember the lil preview from last chapter that she found a new master? I was gonna get to that but wasn't able to ... wanna guess who? 

Review Responses

Fanfiction.net:

Everlasting Hope: Glad you found it interesting ^^

Cool Little Inu: O.o! Is it really like a movie? Heheh, yup your review gave me the much needed confidence. I'm very glad that at least some people out there think this fic is good and worth reading. Why do you think our pen name makes no sense? Why would I laugh at it . It's a cute pen name! Me likes ^^

A Single Spark:

Nataly: Thank you! 

Sarah: Don't be impatient, you'll find out about stuff ... eventually *Muahaha*

AdultFanFiction.net:

shivers: Sesshoumaru will be around eventually ... soon ... I estimate ... about 2 chapters maybe before Kagome gets to his castle ... though the story is writing itself right now and I'm not sure how long it might take ...

Tom: O.o!! More will come~

Chris: Thank you! Now if only my English teacher think that too ...

Anon: Thank you! Here's another update! And yes I will put in Sango, though it will take a while before she makes an appearance.

Mediaminder.org

kmec: Thank you! I hope I didn't keep you waiting long for this chapter ^^


	4. A New Master?

Hello everyone ... I've been gone a long time haven't I? . Been busy, then computer died and had to be reformatted, then come 5 projects, which I got stuck doing till I'm so tired of them I can't think straight, then now there's the finals and I've been stuck studying, and I still flunked my math. Oh well, and still studying for mandarin. Going to forget everything and just write something now. Very very sorry again for the super huge extra long absence TT

A Big thank you to everyone who has reviewed, I'm going to put off replying to reviews in future chapter because it's taking off time for actual writing of the story. It's hard enough to find time as it is.

_/Italics/_ - thoughts [it was "_italics"_ previously, but I found on some sites it won't show up properly, so in order to not confuse it with dialogue, I've decided to change it to something more obvious instead]  
"blahblah" - dialogue  
[blahblah] - author notes or translations.

AN: To clarify a little something, in my sense of youkai smelling a scent, it's not just a physical smell, but also emotions and character traits, and its also a bit like a feeling more than just smelling. Like how some animals can smell fear, and how some can feel danger or kindness from someone else.

Rating Alert: Some lustful hints on Inuyasha's part ... but very mild I think.

Serendipity  
_ sometimes blessings are disguised in the most unexpected ways ..._

Chapter 3  
A New Master?

* * *

_/Stupid wolf, why did he insist on coming when I've already offered to come anyway? He dislike me as much as I dislike him, so why .../_ Inuyasha looked up sharply, sniffing the air. _/What is that intriguingly alluring scent? I have never came upon any like it ... I wonder where it came from .../_

Following his nose, Inuyasha wondered around the castle until he finally found himself in the gardens. _/A very nice garden, almost as well kept as the ones at Sesshoumaru's castle./ _He thought distractedly, trying to determine where the scent came from.

Suddenly, he heard the sounds of sniffling, then a shaky breath. _/There's someone here! A human female, why didn't I noticed sooner? Must be that strange scent distracting me./ _Inuyasha walked towards the origins of the soft sniffling.

_/Wait a moment ... that scent is getting stronger! ... no way! This scent can't possibly be from a human ... can it?/ _A bewildered Inuyasha cautiously approached the dark head he can see poking through the bush in front of him. Silently maneuvering himself around the tree the human is leaning against, he tried to have a peak at the human without her noticing.

Absently, it registered at the back of his mind that the human is no longer sniffling. When she came into full view, Inuyasha did a double take at the beauty in front of him. As a prince and heir to the title of Lord of the Western Lands, he has seen his fair share of beautiful people, human or youkai, male or female. However, Inuyasha was willing to bet his legs that this girl in front of him would be a match in looks to anyone he's ever seen. [AN: Though I would say, with the exception of Sesshoumaru, no one is a match with the beauty of Fluffy-sama, All Hail Fluffy! .. Ahem! back to the story.]

A soft breeze brushed past them, carrying a strong dose of that alluring scent straight into Inuyasha's face. He took a long whiff of the scent, trying to decide what it felt like. _/Warmth, and light, like sunshine; something sweet and innocent, along with a fair bit of fire; lavender and jasmine, with a hint of cinnamon and mint ... there's something dark and melancholy there too, like the calm before a thunderstorm. Such an unique scent, I wonder how the human is like .../_

Inuyasha moved to the front of the human, expecting the girl to prostrate herself at his feet immediately at the sight of a youkai lord. He knew she was probably a slave or servant, since there was no other human at the castle currently. However, the girl gave no indication that she noticed him at all, and continued to stare into space, even when he has occupied that space. Watching the girl intently, Inuyasha decided to wait for her to come to her senses without his help. Besides, it was a good opportunity to observe this delicate rose.

Raven black hair framed a softly pointed face, with dark onyx eyes half covered by long dark lashes, cherry red lips under a delicate little nose, completed with flawless pale skin. Inuyasha licked his lips; his mouth has suddenly gone dry. His eyes moved down her smooth neck, the firm swell of her chest, her shapely thin waist, swept over her exquisitely shaped hands, and finally down beautiful shapely long legs. A sudden image of them wrapping around him appeared; Inuyasha swallowed hard and quickly shook it out of his head before something decided to spring to life. Looking back at her neck, he frowned at the solid iron band encircling it, looking disturbingly out of place on such a delicate and pale creature.

_/Must be a slave then./ _Inuyasha thought, knowing full well what that band meant. Displeasure flowed through him for some reason, but he could not think of why. _/Probably because such a delicate creature should not have been treated so harshly. I never liked the idea of torture./_ A slight movement from the slave drew his attention back to her face, waiting for her to acknowledge his presence.

Kagome suddenly a tingle down her spine, like someone was watching her. Coming out of her daze, she blinked stupidly at the visage in front of her, somewhat fuzzy mind not being able to connect what she's seeing with the thoughts from her brain. Her confused eyes took in the startling honey eyes under silver eyebrows, and the silver hair flowing behind him. Absently she wondered if her daydream became reality. Her eyes continued to travel down his body, taking in the baggy fiery red haori. Something moved in the corner of her eyes, and she looked up at the top of his head, finally noticing the fuzzy pointed ears twitching in his hair.

_/... wait a moment, he's that hanyou!!/_ She thought in shock. That brought her out of her daze, dark eyes widening impossibly as she tried to scramble back and away from the hanyou, which only resulted in pushing herself against the tree she was leaning against. She was too shocked and still not recovered enough from her daze to remember how she should be acting, the intent scrutiny of the hanyou in front of her sending goose-bumps down her flesh.

Inuyasha stared at the girl, not sure how to react. /_Don't any of the slaves here know how to behave?/ _ He thought with exasperation, thinking back to the other slave who had the audacity to talk back to him. [A/N: Inuyasha had not recognized Kagome yet, because she was covered in dirt and soot, but now she is clean.]

Glaring at her, he said: "Hey you! Isn't there something you should be doing right now?"

Kagome eyes went even wider as a multitude of emotions flashed through her expressive dark eyes, but the most dominant ones were fear and dread. Her breath caught in her chest, and she found herself unable to reply, her vocal chords having locked down in her fear. _/What if he finds out?!/ _The thought went around and around in her head.

Inuyasha blinked in surprise, not sure why Kagome would be so afraid. Then his eyes darkened in anger with the thought that she had probably been badly mistreated; he had seen many broken slaves terrified at the smallest indication of displeasure from their masters.

"a...a..I.." Kagome tried to form a reply, forcing her unresponsive body to move into a kneeling position, bowing her head submissively.

"It's ok, I'm not going to hurt you. There is no need to be so terrified of me." Inuyasha said softly, as if he was talking to a frightened pup. He knelt down on one knee in front of her, raising her chin softly with his fingers.

Kagome was dumbfounded. She had grew up in the midst of pain and torture and she handled it, but the sudden kindness from the hanyou took her completely off guard. She opened her mouth to form a reply, any reply, then closed it again when nothing would come to mind. She settled on just staring at him.

"Are you mute?" Inuyasha asked, noticing the difficulties this slave seemed to have with talking.

Kagome shook her head, swallowing hard. _/Get a hold of yourself Kagome! If he was going to kill you he would have done so already, so snap out of it!/ _She berated herself, _/the last thing you want is for him to get mad at you because you won't talk!/_

"I-I can talk." She said softly, her warm breath tickling Inuyasha's fingers, which were still holding her chin up. "I was just ... too shocked just now to react properly. Please forgive this lowly slave." Kagome lowered her eyes, since she was unable to lower her head.

"Don't worry about it. I don't really like all this slave business anyway, but it's been a tradition for so long, and I can't just abolish it out of the blue. Especially since I can't do so without causing friction with the Lords of the other Lands." Inuyasha suppressed a shiver from the sensations her sweet breath cause on his fingers. Hastily, he dropped his hand. Standing up, he motioned for her to do so as well.

/_Her voice sounds familiar ... wait, isn't she that same slave who talked back to me in the dungeons?! / _Realising this, Inuyasha drew himself up and glared down at the girl. "Say, aren't you that slave who said I had "cute puppy ears"?"

Kagome froze. _/Oh my god I'm going to die now, I'm coming to join you mother!/ _

Inuyasha snorted at the terrified girl, knowing she's probably awaiting her death by his hands. "Don't worry, I'm not going to kill you. Just make sure you behave from now on, not everyone is nice like me you know."

"Y-yes, I am very sorry for my behaviour. I was not thinking straight." Kagome answered in soft tones, eyes downcast.

He looked at her with curiosity, "What do you do here?"

"I ... I am Young Lord Hojo's ... personal slave." Kagome hoped he would just take it at face value and not inquire about her specific duties.

"Personal slave? Do you share his bed?" Inuyasha asked with interest. He felt his loins tightening. /_Why am I reacting like this to her? No female has ever had this effect on me./_

Kagome swallowed, not sure if she should answer the truth that no, she does not share Hojo's bed, or if she should answer according to her position that yes, she should be sharing his bed.

"Answer me!" Patience had always been an alien concept to Inuyasha, and the movement of her white neck when she swallowed was distracting him.

"No!" Kagome decided to go with the truth; she did not need the hanyou to get any less than savory ideas.

"Really, I'm surprised. Make sure you are not lying to me, or else ... " Inuyasha raised one of his claws in front of her face, crackling his knuckles.

"I am not lying to you, I do not share Lord Hojo's bed." Kagome tried her best to calm her racing heart.

"Well then, what do you do, if you do not share his bed." Inuyasha said the last few words with a slight sneer, letting her know that he did not believe her at all.

"I help him dress, clean his rooms, and accompany him to serve him." Kagome was getting nervous, she wondered if he would do anything to her.

"I see, well then, since you have no one to _ serve_ right now, why don't you serve me." Inuyasha smirked at her.

_/Nooo ..../_ Kagome mentally moaned. _/Hopefully he would not ... do anything./_ To answer the hanyou, she noded. It was not like she had any choice.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Yo dog-breath! I'm going back t... " Kouga trailed off, jaw dropping and eyes popping out of their sockets at the tenyo following demurely after the hanyou. [Tenyo: somewhat like angel, fairy, or goddess.]

"What stinky wolf, cat got your tongue?" Inuyasha sneered, knowing well what, or rather who, the wolf was staring at.

"Hey, where'd you get such a catch?" Kouga asked, still in daze staring at Kagome.

Kagome felt unnerved by the youkai's blatant staring, as she followed behind the hanyou with her eyes downcast. She wondered who the other youkai was, but did not dare to look up.

Inuyasha shrugged nonchalantly, though he was secretly gloating. "I came upon her in the gardens. You should learn to appreciate the beauty of nature too."

"She's a beauty alright, mind sharing?" Kouga had finally gotten a hold of himself, and is no longer gapping like a fish at the girl.

"No way!" Inuyasha growled. Somehow the thought of another person touching the girl angering him, especially if it's the stupid wolf Kouga.

"Aww, spoil sport! Anyway, as I was saying. I'm going back to my lands, there's no need for us to stay here." Kouga knew the rule of first come first serve among the youkai and did not try to steal the girl. He dragged his attention with some difficulty to look at Inuyasha.

"Good, the sooner you're gone the better." Inuyasha turned to go, Kagome following him.

"Wait!" Kouga called after them, stepping closer. Even though he cannot outright take her from the hanyou, there was nothing that said he could not make her come to him of her own free will, and if she wanted to go with him, he would not mind buying her from the stupid hanyou. He took Kagome's hand and brought it to his lips, then planted a kiss against the petal soft skin of the back of her fingers. "I am Kouga, prince of the wolves and Lord of the Eastern lands. It is my honour to meet someone as exquisite as yourself. If you ever want to get away from the stupid dog I'll gladly buy you from him."

Kagome blushed, a loss at how to react. However, she was saved from having to make a reply by Inuyasha's angry growl.

"Stay away from my slave, you stupid wolf! Get your hands off her!" Inuyasha was not pleased at all to see the slight reddening of Kagome's cheeks. He did not like the fact that the mangy wolf was the source of the girl's alluring blush. He moved to pull Kouga away, but Kouga has already stepped back.

With a wink at Kagome, he disappeared in a cloud of dust, calling behind him: "You'd better take good care of the girl for when I come to get her."

Kagome blinked at the onslaught of dust left behind by the youkai. _/Who was that? I did not even get a look at him...but they're all the same anyway, wanting me for my looks and "services". Even if he buys me, I will just be going from one hell to another./_ Kagome stayed as she was, standing behind Inuyasha forlornly.

Inuyasha turned from glaring after the wolf to Kagome, noticing her dejected look. Not sure why she look even more miserable than before, but suspecting that it probably had to do with the wolf.

"Keh! Just ignore the stupid wolf, no one cares what he says anyway." He tried to comfort her in a way. He also really wanted her to disregard what Kouga had suggested; there was no way he would let Kouga have her.

Kagome nodded slightly, she did not really consider going with the other youkai anyway. At least, from what she had seen from this hanyou, he was not one to randomly abuse his slaves. She actually thought he might be relatively nice for a part youkai master.

_/I guess he is my new master ... I wonder if he will take me with him? I'm getting old, even if he leaves me behind to wait for Hojo's return, his father will still want to sell me soon since I am growing old and it is obvious Hojo is not using my "services"./_ Kagome pondered. _/Maybe this is for the better ... at least if I am forced to serve anyone, this hanyou is actually not bad looking./_

* * *

I don't really like this chapter ... it was so hard to write ... and it still turned out crappy . Hopefully it is not too bad. Sesshoumaru shall appear soon ... in about one or two chapters at the most. (At least I hope so ... the story is writing itself ... I am merely its medium.) I'm not good at keeping characters in character ... forgive me if anything seems out of place .

Thanks very much to those who has reviewed. Sorry again for the super late chapter. Hopefully the next chapter will come in a week or so.

¡¡


	5. Riding to the Castle

Hello again everyone! Hope this chapter did not take too long to come out. I'm glad people seem to be liking the story so far Thank you everyone who has read the story, especially to those who has reviewed and gave me confidence to write more.

I'm really glad that the previous chapter did not go as bad as I thought ... but I still don't really like it. Hope this chapter will go better ...

Originally I was going to write this next week, but I somehow found time to write it today. (Time which I should have spent studying for my Mandarin Exam tomorrow ... but this is more interesting XD)

-------- Scene change  
_/Blahblah/_ - thoughts  
[Blahblah] - AN & translations / explanations

AN: In this AU story, Inuyasha and Sesshoumaru are not always at each other's throats. They do still have their many differences and fights, but it's more of a violent sibling quarrel than any real hatred. Details concerning their relationship will be explained in the story as it flows.

Serendipity  
_sometimes blessings are disguised in the most unexpected ways ..._

Chapter 4  
Riding to the Castle

* * *

Kagome shifted herself slightly on the horse, mindful to avoid touching the hanyou riding behind her. As one who had never ridden a horse before, the ride was especially uncomfortable. She could feel every movement and bump in the road, and she knew her thighs were probably chafing pretty badly if the stinging pain was anything to judge by. Also, her back was stiff and aching from trying to sit upright in front of her new hanyou master; she did not want to have any unnecessary contact with him. It did not help at all that the said hanyou had an arm around her middle and kept trying to make her lean into him. 

The hanyou and the few youkai soldiers who came with him had set out to return to their castle two days after that youkai Kouga left. A runner had came with the news that the Lord Hojo and his family will arrive within that day, and the hanyou had been too impatient to wait for them to arrive. Taking about a couple dozen slaves with him, the hanyou had left for his castle with his men in the morning.

Kagome shifted again, wincing slightly at the growing pain under her legs. She glared around at the soldiers who had pants on and could side astride their mounts, while she had to sit side ways in her confining kimono, her thighs rubbing against the saddle with each step the horse takes. The hanyou had said she was lucky to be riding with him instead of walking like the other slaves, but right now she would rather walk than suffer any more of the chaffing. However, she could not make up her mind whether it would be too imprudent and audacious to ask him. Slaves generally do not talk unless talked to, or when relaying a message.

"Stop moving around! If you are uncomfortable, why don't you just relax instead of sitting there stiff like a statue." Inuyasha sighed at her exasperatedly. He tried not to think about what her endless wiggling had done to a certain part of his anatomy.

Kagome froze, and impossibly became even stiffer. She managed to stay immobile for a while like that, trying her best to ignore the steadily growing pain in her back. Glancing up at the sky, she could tell it was near evening and soon they would have to set up camp. Hopefully she would be able to stand it until then. She did not dare to think about how she would bare through another day of this torture tomorrow, maybe she would ask the hanyou to let her walk tomorrow tonight after they set up camp.

However, soon the ache in her back grew to be too much for her to handle. She was grinding her teeth together in pain, though she still sat resolutely straight-backed. Suddenly, a jolt as the horse stepped on a stone rattled her so bad that she fall against the hanyou's firm chest in surprise. Startled, she tried to push herself away after a few dumbstruck moments, but the arm around her middle had tightened and she could not get up. Swiveling her head to glare at him, she was just about to demand him release her when he cut her off.

"Don't even bother. It is obvious you are in extreme discomfort, so why don't you relax and stop being so stubborn. It is not going to hurt you if you leaned against me. I am your new master now." Inuyasha glared impatiently down at the now dumbfounded girl.

Kagome stared at him, deciding if she should just give up and get comfortable. Technically, even if he did not phrase it in an order, she still should obey whatever he said. However, it was the unidentified gleam in his eyes, and the slight change in tone when he said he was her master that convinced her to not rile the hanyou up any further. She was not sure what it had meant, but she was not one to tempt fate pointlessly.

Letting out a sigh of defeat, Kagome slouched against Inuyasha, letting him take the brute of her weight. She immediately noticed the pain in her back disappearing, and the chaffing decreasing. Not in so much pain anymore, Kagome relaxed against his chest. She was very tired, and her eyelids drooped as she unconsciously leaned her head against his chest.

Startled by the sudden change in the girl, Inuyasha looked down at the dark head now settled under his chin. He felt strangely warm inside when the girl finally decided to relax against him. However, he quickly ignored the sensation when the warmth start to pool in a conspicuous place.

Inuyasha dragged his attention from the girl now entirely relaxed against him to surveying the road in front of him. Anything to take his mind off the soft bundle against his chest.

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"We'll set up camp here!" Inuyasha called out to his men, while he slide smoothly of his horse, mindful of the unresponsive bundle still leaning against him. Using his hands to keep her from falling off, he observed her sleeping face. In peaceful slumber, the girl looked innocent, almost ethereal in her beauty. Inuyasha found himself hesitating to wake her up, not wanting to disturb the tennyo in her rest.

With a sigh, he pulled her off the horse into his arms. Letting one of the soldiers take his horse, he carried the girl to the tent that had been set up in record time for him. It was times like these he felt his annoyance at his glacial older sibling wane, it was Sesshoumaru's icy, no nonsense training that produced such efficiency in his soldiers. However, that did not mean Inuyasha liked the way Sesshoumaru shut himself off from the world.

Dragging his attention back to the girl in his arms, he felt slightly amused and very exasperated at the girl. For the better part of the day she had been stiff as a rock and trying not to come in contact with him at all, then suddenly she fell asleep against his chest. This human made no sense at all.

Inuyasha set her gently on the futon rolled out for himself inside the tent. With one last look at the puzzling girl, he exited the tent and jumped into a nearby tree. He rarely slept on the ground when he was on the road, much preferring the branches. Alert for any trouble, Inuyasha settled on a branch almost directly above where Kagome was obliviously sleeping.

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With a muffled shriek Kagome jerked awake, sitting up panting, trying to free herself from the terrors of her nightmare. Disoriented, she looked around trying to figure out here she was; nothing looked familiar. The last thing she remembered was riding with that hanyou, she did not remember falling asleep. Although, it would seem that she had.

Kagome started to crawl out what seemed to be a tent. As her head neared the flaps which seemed to be the doorway, a silver head poked in suddenly, glowing amber eyes staring into her own less than an inch away. With a startled yelp, Kagome threw herself backwards and away from her master's face. Taking deep breathes, she tried to calm herself.

Meanwhile, the hanyou had also reacted much the same way, and is now sitting in an undignified heap outside his tent. /_...her eyes are actually a deep blue.../_ Surprised at that absurd thought which appeared out of nowhere, he shook his head to try to get rid of it. With a scowl, he once again thrust his head into the tent, glaring in annoyance at the girl sitting on the futon with her left hand on her chest, as if trying to physically calm her racing heart.

"Hey wench, what were you doing yelling so early in the morning. Are you trying to wake the whole camp?" Inuyasha growled at her.

"S..sorry. I had a bad dream, that's all." Kagome answered timidly, the fear from her nightmare still lingering, leaving her somewhat cowed.

"Keh, just like you weak humans, terrified of just a dream." Inuyasha muttered as he turned to leave. However, he did not anticipate the murderous glare that was suddenly sent his way. "What? What did I say?" he suddenly felt like he was just a pup again, and was getting reprimanded by his father.

"Nothing." Kagome said carelessly, deciding to ignore the hanyou. She settled back down on the futon, preparing to go back to sleep.

"What do you mean, nothing? Nothing does not make you suddenly glare at me like that!" Inuyasha hated not knowing things, and this was pissing him off.

"Fine! Firstly, my name is Kagome, not wench or girl or anything else. Secondly, I may be human but I am not weak! And it was not "just a dream", do not speak of things you do not understand!" Kagome snapped at him, all her years of slave training getting thrown out the window. For some reason, this hanyou just seem to strike all her nerves the wrong way, riling her up.

Inuyasha was taken aback by her anger, directed at himself, her master no less. Now he was really pissed, though he must also admit, he was starting to admire her intrepid attitude.

"Don't forget, I'm the master here, _slave_! Are you tired of living that much?" Inuyasha flexed his clawed fingers in front of him, trying to intimidate the wench. "Besides, you never told me your name before..." This was said in a somewhat sulky tone, as if he was a child who was reprimanded for something that he was not guilty of.

Kagome blinked at him in surprise. _/Oh...I really didn't ever tell him my name before now, did I?/_ She felt a bit chagrined that she had snapped at him for something that was not really his fault.

"I am sorry. I forgot that I never told you my name." Kagome's face softened. "My name is Kagome Higurashi, what is yours?"

Now it was Inuyasha's turn to blink at her in surprise, not only was she apologizing, but she wanted to know his name? Did she not know her current situation? That she was a slave talking back to her master, and could be punished by death? Was she brave or was she just stupid?

Not sure what to make of the girl, he replied, "I'm Inuyasha." With that, he left the tent.

Kagome smiled slightly at the spot where a golden-eyed hanyou was sitting a moment ago. As she settled back onto the futon, she though about the conversation they had. She could not believe she just had a semi-normal conversation with her new master, and that she was still alive after having the audacity to snap at him.

_/He really isn't that bad, just a bit childish and stubborn. Maybe we'll even become friends./_ was her last thought as she went back into dreamland.

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Meanwhile, Inuyasha had settled back in his branch and was also mauling over what had transpired between them. When he was with her, he did not feel like the master at all. Instead, he felt like a child who was getting chastised. Even though he threatened her with his position as her master, she seemed to be not afraid. Also, he had realised that he would not actually hurt her.

Thinking about what she said, he wondered what she meant by it was not just a dream. What was her dream about? He had smelt her terror all the way from up in his tree, in fact, the stench of her fear was what had woken him in the first place.

When he fell back into slumber, his thoughts were still focused on one Kagome Higurashi.

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The next day found Kagome riding in front of Inuyasha again, the only difference being she no longer sat stiff like a rock. Instead, she was relaxed against him, letting his chest support her side. Sitting like this, she no longer felt such pain like the day before, and her thighs were spared from further chafing. There was only a little residue of pain from the previous day's chafing.

Kagome had tried to ask Inuyasha to let her walk, but he would not let her. Rather than getting into a pointless argument which she would not win anyway, she just complied with his wishes to ride with him. After the talk they had, she no longer think of him in a negative light. She could tell that under all the rash and rude exterior, lies a kind heart. She has always trusted her instinct, which told her the hanyou was not any danger to her.

Settling herself into a more comfortable position, Kagome decided to ask him about the chafing. "Inuyasha, do you think I could get anything else to wear that would not chafe as bad? My thighs are really hurting from the chafing from all this riding."

"Chafing? What chafing?" Inuyasha replied in bewilderment.

Kagome glared up at him, annoyed that girls were the only ones to ever deal with the discomforts of life. [AN: cough periods cough and all the "niceties" that come with it ==;;] As best as she could, she tried to explain her problem.

After quite a bit of explaining, Inuyasha seemed to finally get the idea. "Well, what do you suggest?" he asked.

"Eto...it's not as bad if I lean against you while riding, but do you think you can some salve and a pair of pants for me at the next village we pass by?" Kagome suggested, hoping he would agree. She did not want to fight with him over this, but it was really uncomfortable in the kimono. [AN: eto - the Japanese way of saying erm...]

With a shrug, Inuyasha agreed with a "Why not."

Flashing him a brilliant smile, Kagome flung her arms around him in an impromptu hug. "Thank you so much! I knew you were nice!"

Inuyasha could only stare down at the top of her head in shock as she settled back after the hug. No one had ever hugged him ever since his mother passed away. It had felt ... nice.

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After 5 days of traveling, they are finally nearing the castle. Inuyasha had gotten her the salve and pants she wanted at a village they passed; the village miko kept giving them weird looks. Well, it was not everyday the half-brother of their Lord come barging in asking for a pair of pants and some salve for chafing of all things. Especially when they were for a slave such as herself; the iron bands she wore screamed to the world what she was. The bands told them that her services required her to not have any scars, as that was what the bands were there for: punishment without scarring. It was obvious what she could possibly be used for.

Wearing the pants under her kimono, with the irritated skin healing well with the salve from the miko, Kagome was no longer in any discomfort from the ride. The only problem was the numbing from her waist down, she wondered absently if she would be able to stand on her own after she get off the horse today. They had traveled hard without any rest in order to arrive at the castle within the day, and she could feel neither her bottom nor her legs anymore.

They had passed quite a few youkai villages, and Kagome had quite an eyeful from all the unique sights and sounds of the villages. She noticed that the number of youkai villages increased as they got closer to the castle, situated near the center of the Western lands. During these 5 days, she and Inuyasha seemed to be getting closer to each other. They could carry normal conversations with minimum insults exchanged, and almost seemed to be enjoying each other's company. The hanyou even finally succumbed to her endless "persuading" and conceded to use her name when talking to her.

"Kagome, we are almost at the castle. I know you're not afraid of me, and you don't show me the respect due to a slave's master," Inuyasha glared, "but at the castle there are many lords who will not hesitate to end your life at the slightest hint of disrespect, especially my brother. As the half brother of Sesshoumaru, Lord of the Western Lands, I can get away with most things, and can protect you should anyone try to pick on you. However, do not cross Sesshoumaru no matter what. With a temper like yours, you should avoid him like the plague. If you managed to piss him off, which I don't think would be too hard considering it's you we're talking about, even I won't be able to save your life."

"I understand. I know the proper behaviour of a slave, and can act accordingly when I want to." Kagome grinned at him mischievously, "It is only you that I do not show the proper respect as a slave should."

Inuyasha gave her a half hearted growl, "What, do you think I would not hurt you?"

"I know you won't." She replied resolutely.

Inuyasha was slightly surprised at the conviction in her voice, as if she whole heartedly believed he would not hurt her. Since he had already admitted to himself he would not be able to hurt her days ago, he could not truthfully contradict her. He only bared his fangs at her playfully.

"Like I said, try to avoid drawing his attention to yourself. You will be my personal slave, which means you will probably be with me most of the time, and will have to see him whenever I have to meet him. During the time when you are not accompanying me, you will have to stay in my rooms." Inuyasha let her know.

"What? I have to either stick to you or sit in your rooms all day?" Kagome asked him in mild shock, not liking the sound of that at all. Even though she knew her place was a lowly slave, but the relative freedom she had had while being with Hojo, and the temporary freedom on the road with Inuyasha had given her a false sense of security. She could not imagine a life with nothing to do but following Inuyasha around. At least, she don't think he would force her to _service_ him.

"That is, after all, what a personal slave does. However, after I show you all the servant shortcuts and you get familiarized with the layout of the castle so you won't get lost, you can wander around as long as you don't draw any attention to yourself. We'll worry about that when we get there." Inuyasha decided. He was afraid she might do something stupid and drastic if she got cooped up in his rooms for too long.

Satisfied for the moment, Kagome nodded. Just as she was about to ask more questions about the castle, she felt Inuyasha stiffen.

"We're here," He said tersely, "after we cross the main gates into the inner village, you should start behaving as a slave."

Bobbing her head in understanding, she looked up at the impressive stone walls surrounding the lands around the main castle. Craning her head to look at the castle, she was awed by the breathtaking structure. Like in the fairytales her mother used to tell her as a child, the gigantic castle stood tall and proud in the center of the large village surrounding it, alleviated above the world. Pristine white walls toped with dark blue roof tiles, with a red gold border finish lining the walls. The flag flying proudly around the castle portrays 3 white sakura with a red center, each inside a red hexagon with a white border. The three hexagons joined together at the center to form a roughly triangular shape, sitting on top of a blue and gold back ground.

[AN: The castle is like the olden day Japanese type, for a better idea go here: **www. jnatravel.com /picture /imperial /osaka%20castle.jpg** and here: **www. luchau.org /webquestjapanese /castle2.jpg** - Take out all the spaces ... FF.net won't let me post URL. You can tell how immense it is from the tiny people walking along the bottom of the wall. As for the flag, it's basically the patterns on Sesshoumaru's kimono and sash.]

Kagome looked downward at her hands folded across her lap as they rode into the inner village. Eyes remaining downcast, her ears struggled to make sense of the buzz around them. As they rode up towards the castle, Kagome could not help but become curious about the owner of such a beautiful place.

* * *

Alright, there you go! That took some time to write ... hope you all will like it! This chapter isn't too interesting either ... but hopefully things will start happening in the next chapter. Sesshoumaru is going to appear soon! In the next chapter! I'm so excited XD 

...did I keep Inuyasha in character somewhat ...? It's hard writing him ... . I dread trying to portray Sesshoumaru ... 

A Big thank you and a Hug to all those who reviewed, I really appreciate them.

Next Chapter shall be around in about a week.

-Kura


	6. A New Home

Wow ... Thank you so much for everyone who has reviewed. The amount of support I got for the previous chapter was amazing, I am so touched. I am glad people thought I kept the characters in character, and that my Kagome portrayal was so well liked. Thanks so much!

I'm so sorry for the late update. I have thought to write some before my trip, then finish when I come back. But then summer school started and I got totally buried in work and tests, and I also started volunteering at Nikkei Home (for elderly) and had to study for SAT and so I had no time at all to write this chapter . Please forgive me!! Not to mention the HUGE writer's block!! My mind goes blank when I think about Sesshoumaru I float off on Cloud #9 in the middle of writing the fic daydreaming about Sesshie so much TT I'm so Sorrryyy!!!

I have also started a mailing list for updates to this fic, if you would like to join go here: kura-sama .notifylist .com and supply your email. [remove the spaces in between]

"Blahblah" - Dialogue  
-------- Scene change  
_/Blahblah/_ - thoughts  
[Blahblah] - AN & translations / explanations

Serendipity  
_sometimes blessings are disguised in the most unexpected ways ..._

Chapter 5  
A New Home

* * *

As they rode up to the castle, Kagome could not help but notice the speculative glances coming her way from the villagers they past. Kagome felt increasingly conspicuous, and just a tad nervous; maybe even a bit frightened, as most of the villagers she managed to see with her eyes downcast were not very human, and a lot of their expressions did not seem friendly. 

When they drew up to the great rock foundation of the castle, Kagome noticed the soldiers leaving them, and the other slaves who came with them being led away by some servants. Vaguely, she wondered where they were taken to and if she would ever see them again. However, she did not have much time to ponder on that as she felt Inuyasha's arm around her middle tighten minutely just before he let go and slid off the horse. He turned to help Kagome off after he landed, but her legs were so numb they would not move. 

"Come on, get off already. Do you plan to sit there all day?" Inuyasha growled under his breath impatiently. Sesshoumaru had told him to meet with him after he came back from the trip, and he did not want to keep the Great Lord waiting. Especially since he had to ask him a favour: to keep his claws from slicing apart Kagome. He really did not trust her to keep out of trouble.

"I'm trying! But my legs are totally numb and I cannot make them move." Kagome whispered back urgently. She could feel the soldiers and servants around them staring at her, and it was extremely uncomfortable to feel like an oddity on display.

"Lean forward and slide off, I'll make sure you don't fall." Inuyasha replied back, he was also growing aware of the stares the others were giving them. He stood in front of her beside the horse, facing her, ready to steady her when she get off. He would have just lifted her off the horse if it was not for all the people around them, it would be improper for a Lord with a position as high as himself to be too close to a slave. Not only would Sesshoumaru be displeased, it would also bring trouble to Kagome.

Taking a deep breath, Kagome used her hands to push against the horse, succeeding in pushing herself forward. Unable to control the lower half of her body, she landed numbly on feet that would not support her. With a startled cry, she pitched forward into Inuyasha's arms, landing with an "ompf" against his chest.

Inuyasha's arms automatically closed around Kagome's torso before he realised what he had done. _/Chikushou! Now we're really in trouble./ _He fervently hoped that no rumour would start because of this, but know that Kagome would probably be a target of the gossips and bullies in the the Taiyoukai's household now. Furthermore, he was troubled by his slightly increased heartbeat.

With a pretty blush on her face, Kagome pushed away from Inuyasha's chest, mumbling an apology. _/Oh Kami, that was embarrassing! Useless legs!"/ _she raved in her head, all the while getting redder and unable to look up at Inuyasha. As she was busy feeling awkward, she felt Inuyasha suddenly tense up. Puzzled, she opened her mouth to ask him but a smooth masculine voice caused her to freeze.

"My, my. I had never thought that you would stoop so low as to display such disgusting intimacy with a human slave, even for a hanyou." The voice flowed over them like poisonous nectar, sweet yet deadly; so alluring that one would be drawn to like like flies to a light, unable to stop themselves from being drawn into it even if they would die.

Suppressing a snarl, Inuyasha released Kagome and turned around to face his half brother with his hands fisted at his sides. Legs still entirely numb, Kagome snapped her mouth shut and leaned against the side of the horse to keep herself from falling over, her face downcast.

"What do you want, Sesshoumaru?" Inuyasha snapped at the owner of that silky voice.

Kagome blinked. _/Sesshoumaru? Isn't that Inuyasha's brother, Lord of the Western Lands?/_ She sorely wanted to see what the feared Taiyoukai looked like, but did not dare raise her eyes. Showing any disrespect to Inuyasha was one thing, being disrespectful to his brother was an entirely different story. She rather preferred her head to stay on her shoulders, thank you very much.

"How rude, though expected from a disgrace like you. Is your memory that bad? Have you forgotten that I had requested your presence immediately when you get back? How impolite of you to blow me off while dallying with filth, you would have hurt my feelings, if I had any." Sesshoumaru reprimanded Inuyasha smoothly, voice dripping with sarcasm.

Kagome mentally winced at the biting words. She was angry at being insulted, but had had enough training to control her temper. _/This is Sesshoumaru! Not Hojo or Inuyasha! You will really die this time if you so much as make a sound. Remember, no matter how nicely Hojo and Inuyasha treated you, you're still a slave and have no place to speak./ _She kept reminding herself of her place, chanting it like a mantra over and over again in her head, trying to stomp her pride rearing it's arrogant head back into its confinement.

Inuyasha had no such restrictions. He growled menacingly at Sesshoumaru, bearing his fangs in threat. He was seething inside, and usually would have jumped at the bastard and try to ripe his throat out. And like usual, would get beaten to a pulp, but not before doing his share of damage. It was a wonder he was still alive, with the number of fights they get into. However, this time he forced himself to control the urge to punch that condescending smirk off his face, for Kagome's sake. He still needed that favour.

"Of course I remember. I was just going to find you, after I had shown my new personal servant to my chamber, before you showed up. What, did you miss me so much, _dear brother_, that you couldn't wait a few more moments to see me?" Inuyasha matched his sarcasm word for word.

Kagome wondered briefly if one could possibly drown in sarcasm, then had to bite her lips hard to keep from giggling at that absurd thought out of nowhere.

Ignoring the question, Sesshoumaru glanced briefly at the slave girl behind the hanyou. Her black hair covered her face, head turned down demurely as expected of a slave, and stood rather shakily, leaning against Inuyasha's horse.

"And pray tell, where did you pick the wench up?" Sesshoumaru inquired, with a slight sneer in his voice. He had a notion what a female "personal servant's" services would include.

"She's from that northern lord who came to ask our help. Since Jaken had been complaining about a shortage of slaves I decided to take a few back with me; count it as payment for helping them get their castle back. Since you're in such a hurry to see me, why won't you let me take care of her and then get down to business? It's not like you to be so interested in my affairs." Inuyasha sneered back.

"You better not keep me waiting." With a glare full of daggers, Sesshoumaru turned on his heels and stalked back to his study.

With a sigh, Inuyasha turned to Kagome. "Follow me." He said curtly. Arguing with Sesshoumaru always took a toll on him, leaving him drained. However, he savoured the fights they had, for it is extremely rare for Sesshoumaru to say much. He took pride in the fact that he was the only one Sesshoumaru deemed worthy of verbal sparring, anyone else would be dead before he wasted any breath or time on them.

After walking a few steps, Inuyasha noticed Kagome was not following him. Turning around, he impatiently said, "Now what?" When Sesshoumaru said not to keep him waiting, he meant it.

"I can't walk! My legs are all tingly right now, and I can't control them!" Kagome whispered urgently, feeling her face heat up with a blush of embarrassment.

With a exasperated sigh, Inuyasha stalked briskly to her side and glared down at her. Slightly taken aback, Kagome tried to move back away from him and ended up pressing herself into the side of the horse. For a long moment Inuyasha just stared at her while looming over her, seeming to be in deep thoughts. Kagome felt increasingly uncomfortable with Inuyasha's strange behaviour and close proximity. Just as she was about to ask him to move away, Inuyasha gave a slight nod as if to himself and in one swoop, picked Kagome up bridal style.

Taken entirely by surprise, Kagome stared at him dumbly for a second before she gave a startled 'eep', and opened her mouth to demand him put her down. However, before she could utter a word, Inuyasha growled sofly under his breath, warning her to be silent. Getting the hint, Kagome snapped her mouth shut and focused on ignoring the strange looks being sent her way, and concentrated on trying to force a major blush down.

Holding Kagome tightly against him, Inuyasha walked briskly to his room in the West wing of the 5th floor where his room was. He kicked the door open and deposited Kagome swiftly on the futon, then rushed out of the room. With a "I'll be back later." Inuyasha quickly left, shutting the door behind him.

Kagome sat up on the bed and massaged her painfully tingling legs, trying to get rid of the annoying tingles and regain control of the limbs. Gradually the tingling receded, and she could move them at her will. Knowing she could not leave the room, but needing to do something, she decided to explore Inuyasha's chamber. _/Afterall, this is my new home now./_ she thought with slight melancholy and trepidation. She had no idea what to expect.

She moved to sit at the side of the futon, and looked around. The room was spacious, but not overly large. The floor was covered with straw tatami mats, as well as most of the walls; the ceiling was tiled of dark green cubical ornate patterns. The windows were on the wall opposite the door, with beautiful drawings of a peaceful village of the countryside covering most of the wall, people going about their daily business with slight smiles on their faces. The futon is placed in the left corner against that wall, under a window. In the right corner is a low table with kneeling mats and soft cushions around it.

The wall on the left was filled with different drawers and cabinets, while the one on the right had half with a big sliding door of a closet while the rest is covered with shelves of scrolls and books; between the two halves was another door. All over the walls were beautiful pictures of greenery and village life. In the corner beside the main door was a foldable shoji screen for changing, decorated with a painting of a gigantic dog youkai in true demon form during battle, covered with blood and surrounded by corpses of demons and humans alike.

Kagome took a sharp intake of breath when she noticed the picture covering the whole of the wall beside the door, it was a exquisite painting of a beautiful lady. She walked closer to inspect the painting, and decided it was of a human lady. Sleeping peacefully on her lap was a small boy with white furry dog ears.

_/That's Inuyasha as a child! Which means ... is this his mother?/_ Kagome wondered, _/She is beautiful, and seems so kind. I wonder what kind of person she is./_

Kagome observed the painting for a while longer, deep in thought, before a huge yawn almost split her face in half. She was enervated from the long ride, and so she lied down on the futon for a rest. Within moments, she was soundly asleep.

[AN: As for the description of Inuyasha's room, it is how a typical room would look like in a castle of feudal Japan, with a few changes and additions by me. This might help you understand it: kura .buruma .net / Misc / Castle-room.jpg and kura .buruma .net / Misc / castle-room2.jpg; take out spaces.]

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Inuyasha rushed to the West wing of the 6th floor, which was the master's wing. Reaching Sesshomaru's study, he burst in without announcing himself, as usual; he knew Sesshoumaru could sense him coming miles away. Besides, annoying Sesshoumaru was one of his goals in life.

"Absolutely no manners as always, Inuyasha? Though I should expect it from trash like you, hanyou." Sesshoumaru growled, looking up from viewing some scrolls on his table, his gold eyes a hard metallic gold.

Inuyasha blinked in surprise, while closing the door behind him. Usually Sesshoumaru was not so harsh, he must be cranky today. "What's the matter?" Inuyasha asked, he had learnt to read Sesshoumaru's moods accurately most of the time after the centuries he had spent living with him.

Sesshoumaru seem to sigh, as he let a deep breath out through his nose. Looking down at the scroll again, he stated simply.

"War is imminent."

* * *

Aah! Forgive me for the rather short chapter, which was not even well written . It's all that huge writers' block's fault T.T I wrote this chapter after almost a week of hard thinking and attempting to write. Not too much happening, but at least Sesshoumaru appeared ... And remember that this is AU, so Inuyasha and Sesshoumaru actually have a relationship of sorts, so hope no one seems OOC. The swords' part in the story will come about later, please bear with me -.- 

A BIG thank you again to all the reviews, they really encouraged me and motivated me to forcefully overcome the writers' block and write a chapter, even though I'm too busy to sleep. Hope the chapter is satisfactory, and hope I will find time and inspiration to get the next chapter out soon.

This is how I look like right now after working my ass off and too little sleep --- =.=; ;

I need to ask for ideas on a dilemma I have right now, and it has also come up on a few reviews: Should Kagome's first time be with Sesshoumaru [which means she'll somehow remain a virgin until waaay later in the story], or should something happen before then with someone [probably forced on Kagome].

Then: If first time is with Sesshoumaru, should it be entirely mutual, or semi-forced. [only Semi-forced, since I will not make Sesshoumaru actually rape Kagome in this story.]

Kura

PS: Random thought of the day I had tried to puzzle out with a friend: If you are walking upside down on the ceiling, which way would that be? o.O

PS: More Sesshoumaru/Kagome interaction to come Kagome is finally in the castle, and they shall run into each other .. right? Stay tuned!


	7. Upcoming Crisis, An Unexpected Miko

Hello! Hope the wait wasn't too long for this chapter. Have big Socials Final Exam coming up next week, then have a trip, so I don't want to put this off another week or two, so here you go!

"Blahblah" - Dialogue  
-------- Scene change [may go back in time a little to incorporate the POV of another character during the same time.]  
_/Blahblah/_ - thoughts  
[Blahblah] - AN & translations / explanations

Serendipity  
_sometimes blessings are disguised in the most unexpected ways ..._

Last time:

Sesshoumaru seem to sigh, as he let a deep breath out through his nose. Looking down at the scroll again, he stated simply.

"War is imminent."

Chapter 6  
Upcoming Crisis / An Unexpected Miko

* * *

Inuyasha stared, while the shocking news slowly registered in his brain ... 

"WAR WHAT?!!?"

"You heard me fine. Now calm down and stop adding to my already piling problems; I really do not need a panicking imbecile on my hands." Sesshoumaru bit out with a sweltering glare directed at the almost panicking hanyou currently looking aghast.

"But-but the last war lasted for almost a century! With unprecedented losses and unbelievable extents of destruction on all sides! If father had not sacrificed himself to seal Ryuukossei, who knows how long that devastating war would last? Besides, how do you know there will be a war anyway? This rocky peace has lasted for over 4 centuries, nothing's changed recently to indicate a cause for war." Inuyasha sputtered, horrified at the possibility of a war on the magnitude of the previous one. He was only a kit at that time, but he had seen and understood enough to know he never want anything like that again. He still remembered the pain from the loss of both his parents to that war all too clearly, and the pain had magnified with time instead of diminishing.

"That's where you are wrong, something has changed. This is a report from one of my spies rooming the lands, he says that Ryuukossei is missing from his tomb. There are-" Sesshoumaru replied evenly, having calmed himself somewhat during Inuyasha tirade.

"Missing?! Ryuukossei MISSING??!!" Inuyasha became agitated again, his voice raising unconsciously. "How can that sealed corpse be missing?!"

"If you haven't so rudely interrupted me, I was just getting to that." Sesshoumaru gave Inuyasha a hard look, clearly stating that any more of his nonsense and he would not be leaving the study in one piece.

"There are traces of a strange jaki [AN: evil aura of youkai] where Ryuukossei's body was, my spy did not recognize it as anything he had felt before. Also, he reports that Ryuukossei's body did not seem to be removed, there were no sign of movement of such a large being as the dragon youkai. Rather, his scent and youki seem to just have abruptly disappeared. From the residual scent and youki, it would seem that this happened about a week ago. The strange jaki also seemed to have just appeared and disappeared out of nowhere, there was no traces of it approaching or leaving the body."

"So what do you make of this? How would this cause a war anyway?" Inuyasha still refused to believe that a war would commerce from such an event, he did not see what it had to do with anything.

"I will need to see the tomb for myself to determine the possibilities this incident represents. However, it is my current belief that any being interested in the body of Ryuukossei, our father's sworn enemy, will not be harbouring amiable feelings towards the Western Lands." Sesshoumaru explained.

"So...what do you need me to do? You didn't just call me here to tell me about this." Inuyasha knew Sesshoumaru probably had something that he needed him to do; he was one of the very few that he trusted, and he could tell this was high confidential.

"If it wasn't you we're talking about, I would have thought you have gotten smarter over the years." Sesshoumaru said with a slight smirk. In fact, he had gotten used to the brat over the centuries, and did not mind him as much as he let on. "I want you to travel to the Northern and Southern lands to inform Lord Miroku and Lord Kouga about this. Remember, this is highly confidential; you must deliver the message to them, and only them, first hand. Then bring their responses back to me, I should be back at the Western castle by then."

"Alright. You do not want me to go see that Lord of the Eastern lands?" Inuyasha inquired.

"No, a lord that does not show his face in public is not to be trusted. Furthermore, the tomb is situated on his lands, he should already know of it. He might even be responsible." Sesshoumaru said.

"When will you be leaving then?" Inuyasha wanted to know.

"Early tomorrow morning. You will leave then too." Sesshoumaru told him. Then he proceeded to ignore his presence by pretending to become engrossed in reading the scroll.

Inuyasha left quietly, recognizing Sesshoumaru's dismissal, deep in though mulling over the information he had just been given. _/This does not seem good, Sesshoumaru's deductions are rarely wrong. If he thinks this is a sign of war to come ... I hope we can find out what's going on and stop the war in time./_

Before he knew it, he had arrived at the door to his room. Suddenly, he felt the hair on his body stand on end and strange tingle travel down his spine, and his senses were assaulted with a strong scent of mint and power. His preserving instincts went on red alert, telling him to high tail it out of there while the rest of his brain was shocked out of his momentary stupor and registered that the strange power was emanating from his room.

"Kagome!" He muttered under his breath as he burst into the room. There, on his futon, was the girl tossing and turning in a nightmare. The power rolled off her in waves, fluctuating with her struggles with an invisible foe.

_/Purifying powers! She's a miko!!/_ Inuyasha registered the strangely familiar power for what it was, the purifying energy of a miko.

Squashing down his instincts screaming at him to get away from the danger, he rushed to Kagome's side, cautious of the energy that could blast him into oblivion. Grasping Kagome's shoulders, he pulled her into his arms, and tried to shake her awake.

"Kagome!! Kagome, wake up!" Inuyasha called urgently, worried about the girl that had been the first in almost 5 centuries to touch his heart.

With a sharp gasp, Kagome tensed up impossibly and her eyes poped open wide as she grasped Inuyasha's arm with a death grip. Her face was positively ashen, and in a strange strangle voice she uttered breathlessly:

"The dark one who shall consume all has come! The twin swords of the West is the only hope!"

With another gasp, Kagome went completely limp, and collapsed into Inuyasha's arms.

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Sesshoumaru continued to read through the reports of his various spies all over the lands as Inuyasha left. He must admit, though he would never let the brat know, that Inuyasha had been a vital help to him over the centuries. In fact, he was in part what had kept him sane during the war all those years ago, witnessing the death of one loved one after another. When Inuyasha's mother had passed away, the knowledge that someone else shared the same pain at losing her kept him from finally losing it and going over the edge.

Inuyasha's mother had been like a second mother to him. His own mother, Lady of the Western Lands, was killed by Ryuukossei while trying to protect him. Her murder was the reason for the war, and what a horrific war that was. Fueled by the pain, guilt, and hate of losing his mate, their father Inutaishou put everything he had into the war. For a few decades at the beginning of the war, Sesshoumaru barely recognized his own father, so twisted by hate and vengeance he was.

Izayoi, Inuyasha's mother, had been one of the courtesans at the castle. A few years before the war, Inutaishou had been ensnared by her vibrant beauty after getting drunk at a banquet. She conceived Inuyasha that night.

Inutaisho had begged for forgiveness, and received it from his mate. He still loved her, that night was only a slip, a mistake of drunkenness. However, when Inuyasha was born, Inutaishou's time spent with his mate decreased drastically, as he became engrossed with his new son. Izayoi's gentle fragility fascinated him, Inuyasha's adoring love captivated him. He no longer seemed interested in the welfare of his mate and elder son.

During those years, young Sesshoumaru developed a hatred for the human courtesan and her son for stealing his father away from his mother and him, making his beloved mother so sad. Then on that fateful day, when his mother was teaching him fighting techniques in some woods close to the west-eastern borders, they were attacked by Ryuukossei. Sesshoumaru blamed his father for her death; she never would have been teaching him if Inutaishou had not neglected his duty of instructing his elder son, and she would not have been so far away from the castle if she was not driving by the pain of losing her mate.

When the war started, Inutaishou made sure to instruct Sesshoumaru well and thoroughly to be a great warrior, driving him beyond physical limitations. He was cruel and harsh in his treatments, which could be due to Sesshoumaru's resemblance to his deceased mate. Often Sesshoumaru would be left bloody and and exhausted on the dojo floor after a training session. Ironically, Izayoi, the woman he hated, was the one who cared for him in his time of need. She painstakingly took care of him time and again, despite his insults and accusations. Inuyasha had also done his part in trying to cheer him up when he was stuck in bed healing, innocently bringing his big brother his human story books and toys.

At first Sesshoumaru had been exceedingly hostile towards the small hanyou. However, the kit had only looked at him like a whipped puppy, then would come back the next day with more things as if trying to make up for making him angry. Sesshoumaru's young conscience felt bad about his treatment of the sweet and innocent kit, and became more friendly in his treatment of him. He may have even learnt to care for him, though any feelings he might have was lost when he became an icicle after Izayoi's death.

Gradually Sesshoumaru started to see Izayoi as his mother, they were both so gentle and caring. Under the warm embrace of Izayoi's love, he was able to come to terms and let go of his mother's death. With her and Inuyasha to take care of him, he was able to endure the brutal treatment from his father all those years.

Finally, Inutaishou started to truly see the carnage he had been partly responsible for. With Izayoi's gentle persuasion, he was able to come back to his right mind, and notice the cruel way he had been treating his elder son. However, the damage had been done, and Sesshoumaru had never forgive his father.

Almost century after his mother's death, the beginning of the war, his father finally has had enough of the carnage. In a final resort to destroy Ryuukossei and end the war, Inutaishou sacrificed his life to seal him, using his life force to force the dragon youkai into eternal slumber.

Even though he still blamed his father for his mother's death, and hated him for his cruel treatment of himself, Sesshoumaru still loved his father in the deep corners of his heart, and he took his father's death very hard. Soon after, while he was still vulnerable from his father's death, the final blow came. Izayoi, heartbroken over Inutaishou's death, had killed herself. He almost became lost to his first demon rage, and be doomed to be a crazed animal for the rest of his life until he was hunted down and killed. It was only Inuyasha who had kept him sane. Inuyasha had clang onto him for months after her death, seeking comfort from him yet at the same time comforting him.

It was then that he vowed never to let anyone into his heart ever again.

Suddenly, his youkai instincts set off red alerts in his mind, startling him out of his reminiscing. Concentration on his senses, he was mildly shocked at feeling strong purifying energy, inside his castle! Standing up immediately, he set off to investigate the source of this power.

Tracing the power, he could only stare in shock when he arrived at Inuyasha's door. Inside, he could see Inuyasha holding his new slave girl in his arms while she trashed around, struggling for all she's worth, the purifying energy rolling off her in waves. He was hard pressed to stop himself from becoming slack jawed with shock when she abruptly tensed up and gasped:

"The dark one who shall consume all has come! The twin swords of the West is the only hope!"

Then the girl collapsed bonelessly into Inuyasha's arms.

"Kagome! Are you alright? Come on, wake up! Please!" Inuyasha pleaded with the unresponsive girl.

Sesshoumaru decided to make his presence known then. "Inuyasha," he called commandingly, "what is the meaning of this? Why have you brought a miko into my castle?"

With a start, Inuyasha whipped around to stare at Sesshoumaru, tightening his hold around Kagome.

"I had no idea she was a miko, I swear! Please don't kill her!" Inuyasha, terrified out of his mind over Kagome's welfare, begged Sesshoumaru before he knew what he was doing.

Sesshoumaru was taken aback at Inuyasha's response. He wondered what was their actual relationship, for Inuyasha to be so concerned over her life.

Just then, Kagome started to regain consciousness. With a slight moan, she blinked her eyes open drowsily.

"Kagome! You're awake! Are you alright? What happened? Why didn't you tell me you were a miko? What did you mean by what you said?" Inuyasha shot one question after another at her, attention focused on her and had all but forgotten about Sesshoumaru's presense.

"Whaa...Inuyasha?" Kagome muttered, pulling herself up to stare at Inuyasha's face, their noses almost touching. "Is that you Inuyasha? Why is everything so blurry?"

Inuyasha was too startled to control the blush that spread over his face, which Sesshoumaru noted with interest. Before he could make a reply, Sesshoumaru decided to remind them of his presense.

"Miko, explain yourself." He demanded, eyes hard as steel trained on the disoriented girl.

Kagome turned her head to look at him, then immediately shut her eyes in pain with a groan. "Oww...my head hurts..."

"Miko, answer me!" Sesshoumaru was losing his patience, and he was not used to not getting his way immediate when he want it. The ones who had not complied with him were all pushing daisies, with the only exception of the annoying hanyou currently clutching the girl protectively against himself.

"Hey, back off, Sesshoumaru! It's obvious she's in no shape to answer you!" Inuyasha came to Kagome's defense.

"I did not ask you, hanyou. Miko, I will not repeat myself again." Sesshoumaru glared at the girl.

"Sesshoumaru...? Miko...?" Kagome was now utterly confused. She blinked at the man standing in front of her, trying to focus her sight. Long, silky silver tresses were the first thing that registered in her mind. Then she noticed the beautifully sculptured face, with strange markings. It was the piercing gold eyes currently assessing her hostilely that brought her back to her senses.

"You're Sesshoumaru! Lord of the Western Lands!" Kagome uttered in shock, her jaw dropping.

"That would be correct. Now, are you going to answer me?" Sesshoumaru asked one last time.

"Answer you? Did you ask me something?" Kagome was truly muddled, she had no idea why the feared Lord Sesshoumaru would be in Inuyasha's room talking to her, while the said hanyou held her to his chest tightly.

_/Wait a second ... Inuyasha's Holding me! I'm practically in his lap, no, I AM in his lap. What's going on!?/ _Kagome's mind panicked. All she remembered was going to sleep after Inuyasha left, then suddenly she's stuck under the glare of the Taiyoukai of the West.

_/This girl is annoying./ _Sesshoumaru decided. Before he could act on his thoughts, Inuyasha intervened.

"Kagome, why did you not tell me you were a miko?" He asked.

"A miko? Me? What are you talking about?" Kagome stared at him, uncomprehending.

"Do not lie, girl. It was obvious from the purifying energy you gave off just now who you are." Sesshoumaru was starting to become very irritated.

"I...I'm a miko? You're joking right?" Kagome could only stare.

"This Sesshoumaru does not joke. Though, it would seem that you do not know of your power." Sesshoumaru prided in his ability to read people, and he could tell she was telling the truth in not knowing about herself.

"He's right, you know. You were giving off miko energy just now, in your sleep. That reminds me, what happened just now? Did you have another nightmare? And what did you mean by what you said?" Inuyasha wanted to know.

"What happened just now? I think I had a nightmare, though not the kind I usually get ... I do not remember this one. All I know was that it was horrible ... but I couldn't escape from it, from him." At this, Kagome shuddered and pressed herself even tighter against Inuyasha's comforting presence. Then she registered the second question. "What do you mean what did I mean by what I said, what did I say?"

"You said 'The dark one who shall consume all has come! The twin swords of the West is the only hope!', and what do you mean you couldn't escape from him? Who is 'him'?" Inuyasha asked while Sesshoumaru looked on, letting Inuyasha inquired about what he also wanted to know.

"I ... said that? I don't remember anything ... nor do I have any idea what that meant. He...it was something in the nightmare, I don't know!" Kagome suddenly felt scared, fear gripped her whenever she thought back to the 'he' in her nightmare. She did not remember anything, but somehow knew that this 'he' was not someone she want to ever really meet.

"It's alright." Inuyasha muttered, trying to comfort her by awkwardly stroking her hair softly.

"It would seem that the miko does not know anything. However, she would need to be removed from the castle. She also need to be trained, as she is a potential hazard. " Sesshoumaru ordered.

"No! She's mine and I won't let anyone take her away!" Inuyasha yelled in defiance.

"Inuyasha, even you must know that an untrained miko in the midst of a castle full of youkai is hazardous to both parties involved." Sesshoumaru was getting exasperated. Now he had more problems added to his mountain of them.

"Fine! I was taking her with me on my mission anyway, so she won't be in the castle while we're gone. We can worry about her training later, but I will not let you just take her away from me. Even you can't order what slave I can or cannot have." Inuyasha conceded, determined.

"Fine." Sesshoumaru conceded, impatient to be on his way. "I trust you will keep her out of trouble until your departure."

Turning on his heels, Sesshoumaru swept out of the room, thoughts occupied with one annoying untrained miko and her strange prophecy.

* * *

There! That was my longest chapter so far Hope you liked it! Wow, Sesshoumaru talked so much ... though ... he is semi-different from the original since this is AU, besides, this is a complicated situation and he needs to talk to get his point across, especially when the other two weren't paying much attention to him most of the time XD. Wow ... I'm surprised at the turn of events, my mind and hands just flew away from me XD This was not what I originally planned ... what did I originally planned anyway xX I forgot ... 

What will happen now? Ooo I'm excited to know too XD Who knows what strange turns the plot will take when I write the next chapters, the story has a mind of its own! I have lost control! =.=

Thank you to all who have reviewed, and I really appreciate the comments and ideas. I have made my decision regarding how Sesshoumaru/Kagome will have their first time ... though it will be a long way to go until they get together.

-Kura

PS: If you would like to be notified by email when I update, join my mailing list here: kura-sama. notifylist. com


	8. A Hanyou's Discovery

Been extra busy, but I got time off since I have a fever right now. I have been let off from studying and stuff, so I may rest ... and so instead of resting I decided to try and get another chapter written. I'm anxious to get the story going too Especially getting Kagome and Sesshoumaru together ... heheh. Though, I foresee quite and while before anything happens. They aren't even around even other at all yet, and not getting together in this chapter either. She's still following Inuyasha, while Sesshoumaru is going off elsewhere.

I sincerely thank everyone for the reviews and support. I have a review response at the end, because his/her review warrants some answers but he/she did not include his/her email so I couldn't reply. There are some plot hints in the review response if anyone's interested in reading it.

"Blahblah" - Dialogue  
-------- Scene change [may go back in time a little to incorporate the POV of another character during the same time.]  
_/Blahblah/_ - thoughts  
[Blahblah] - AN & translations / explanations

Serendipity  
_sometimes blessings are disguised in the most unexpected ways ..._

Last time:

Turning on his heels, Sesshoumaru swept out of the room, thoughts occupied with one annoying untrained miko and her strange prophecy.

Chapter 7  
A Hanyou's Discovery

* * *

_/There was no mistake, that power I felt, it was the same as 5 years ago./_ A shadowed figure smiled in satisfaction at the thought. His wavy obsidian tresses danced in an unnatural breeze, ruby eyes glinting in the candle light of the darkened room. His pale skin tone seem to glow, or rather, to suck in what little light around him. There was a predatory gleam in his eyes as he contemplated the surge of power he had just felt. 

_/I was truly startled at the jolt the power surge gave me that time years ago; the energy was unbelievable. I do not believe there has been any being with such powers since the death of the Great Miko, Midoriko, whose powers were legendary. There had been non before her, and has not been since her passing. I wonder ... could it be? I had thought it to be only a myth, that her heart became a jewel of great power. What was it called again? Ah, yes, the Shikon no Tama. It was said to hold Midoriko's power and spirit, as the battle between her and the youkai still raged on within the jewel. Whoever possesses it will posses great power to rival that of her own, and can have their wish, any wish, granted._

_I had tried looking for the jewel for centuries ... but to no avail. However ... now that I have felt the surge of power again, I could not deny that something of great power do exist. Even though this time it felt a lot weaker than last time, but it is unmistakably the same. Whether or not it is the jewel ... well, that remains to be seen. No matter, I will obtain this source of great power./_

With that decision, the smile turned sinister, as razor ivory fangs showed through between slightly parted crimson lips.

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_/The dark one who shall consume all has come? The twin swords of the West is the only hope? What in the world could she have meant by that?/_ Lord Sesshoumaru of the Western Lands pondered, as he stalked silently back to his study. There were very few people with the ability of foresight or prophecy, but those who did were a force to be reckoned with. He was shocked to say the least, when he heard the prophetic words fall from the hanyou Inuyasha's new human slave's lips. However, one would never be able to tell from the frozen neutral expression that always adorned his face.

_/However, it confirmed my suspicions. There is indeed some hostile force rising, which is most probably tied with the disappearance of Ryuukossen's sealed corpse. I will have to research on this "twin swords of the West". I am the ruler of the Western Lands, it would seem that the swords are somehow related to my family line. We are referred to as "Taiyoukai of the West" or "Blood of the Western Crescent" after all./_ With that thought, Sesshoumaru went straight to searching for the scrolls pertaining to the legends related to his bloodline as he reached his destination.

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Back in Inuyasha's room, a newly discovered miko was still being held against the solid chest of the hanyou. Kagome was still shaken from her nightmare, and after trying to disengage herself from Inuyasha to no avail, as his arms firmly held her in place, she resigned herself to sitting peacefully in his lap.

Inuyasha's nose twitched at the left over scent of mint, which permeated his room. It lingered in the air, dampening Kagome's usual floral scent of jasmine and lavender. _/What is that mint scent?/_ he wondered, sniffing slightly. Trying to determine the source of the smell, he ended up burying his nose in the crook of Kagome's neck as he followed his nose.

Stiffening in surprise, and also from the slight tickle of Inuyasha's breath on her neck, Kagome jerked her head again from his nose.

"Inuyasha! What are you doing?" She reprimanded him, she still felt frightened from her earlier nightmare, and did not want to deal with Inuyasha's sudden urge to sniff her.

"Quiet!" he growled softly as his nose followed Kagome's neck, still sniffing. Finally concluding that the scent of mint did indeed came from the girl in his arms, he reached the correct assumption that her purifying energy smelt like mint, as it only surfaced to dominate her natural scent when her power surged just now.

His head came up to grin at the slightly stunned girl, he explained to her why he had been sniffing. "Did you know that your miko energy smells like mint?"

Taken off guard by this strange question out of the blue, Kagome could only offer him a dumb shake of her head in reply.

"Well, you must be tired from all the energy you were projecting just now, especially since you are untrained and was releasing raw energy. Besides, we'll be traveling again tomorrow and you'll need all the rest you can get." Inuyasha told her.

"Traveling again? Didn't we just get here? Where are we going?" Kagome asked, confused.

"My brother wants me to contact the Lords of the Northern and Southern lands about some issues. We are setting off for the Northern lands tomorrow, it would be easier to track Kouga since he always traveled with his pack of stinking wolves." Inuyasha explained.

"Oh. Alright." Kagome replied. "Do you think you can let me off now? I can't very well sleep on you all night, and you probably have duties to attend to; and another thing, where am I to sleep? I understand I have to sleep in the same room as you, but I see no other futons."

Grinning even wider, Inuyasha answered a slightly confused Kagome. "For tonight, you'll have to sleep on the same futon as me. When we get back, I'll try to get another brought in for you."

Eyes going wide, Kagome tried to give her best glare to the hanyou who was grinning like an idiot. "You'd better not try anything ... you wouldn't want to be accidently purified now, would you." Kagome did not trust that slightly disturbing grin on his face.

"No, of course not." Inuyasha's grin dimmed, but only slightly.

"And why are you grinning like a baka." Kagome decided to ask him, she was started to feel uneasy.

"Nothing! I am just excited to be traveling again, that's all. This castle is awfully dreary, especially when Sesshoumaru's in a foul mood." Inuyasha quickly countered, a little too quickly and too enthusiastically in Kagome's opinion.

"...riiiight..." Kagome obviously did not believe him, but he was not about to let her know the real reason behind his grin.

_/I've been wanting to get closer to her since I met her. This is the perfect opportunity! Though I must be careful not to do anything ... she just might accidentally purify me. I hope I will be able to control myself with her sleeping in such close proximity to me .../_ The devious hanyou tried not to let any of his thoughts show through his expression.

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After taking care of a few duties and getting the preparations ready for the next day's travels, Inuyasha returned to his room late in the night. Kagome had already gone to sleep right after he left her in his room, after more warnings and threats about him better not try anything in her sleep.

_/Keh, like she can order me around. I'm her master, she's only a slave. My slave./ _Inuyasha thought possessively, watching the girl sleep peacefully on his bed. He liked the smell of himself all around her and all over her. Then, he wondered at his possessive streak.

_/I even declared to Sesshoumaru that he can't take her away from me 'cause she's mine, without thinking anything about it./ _It was almost reflex that made him want to secure Kagome, and make sure that she would not be taken away. In the short amount of time that he had known her, he must admit he was drawn to her spirit. Even when he had first laid eyes on her, he was already drawn to her physically, and now she had carved a place in his heart.

He knew he cared for her, but how much? He regarded her as a good friend, regardless of the length of time in which he knew her, but was that all? Friends did not react the way that he did to Kagome. He wanted to caress her soft alabaster skin, to taste her soft cherry lips, to hold her tight and never let go.

Kagome moaned softly in her sleep as she turned over, causing Inuyasha's lower regions to tighten. _/Definitely not just friends./_ He told himself, rather perplexed as to his reactions, both physically and emotionally, to her.

Soft and unbidden, a wayward thought snuck into his mind. Inuyasha's breath was literally knocked out of him as he realised what he was thinking. _/Oh Kami ... could I? So soon?/_

As his eyes slid over the soft form on his futon, he analyzed the thought. The more he tried to find reasons to deny it, the more reasons he found to support it. With a self-mocking smirk, he reached the inevitable conclusion.

_/Who would have thought that I, Inuyasha, would be a victim of the fairytale myth of love at first sight?/ _

Shaking his head at himself, he went to change into his sleeping robe. He decided it was no use pondering over it all night as the source of his quandary slept in blissful oblivion. It would be better to just sleep on it and worry over it some other day, he was starting to get a headache from all the deep thoughts he was having this night. [AN: Normally he never used his brain, hah!]

Inuyasha slipped in silently beside the sleeping Kagome on the futon, careful to not wake her. Locking his arms around her slight waist, he buried his nose in her hair. Soon, he succumbed to the call of unconsciousness surrounded by the scent of jasmine and lavender.

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Kagome awoke to a warm, safe feeling; it was similar to when she would wake in her mother's loving embrace. She had not felt like that since her death 5 years ago, when she was taken into slavery. Blearily, her sleep clouded mind registered the slight pressure around her waist and the warm firmness pressed against her back.

When a warm breath tickled her right ear, her mind jumped awake. _/Someone's holding me!/_ she mentally screeched to herself. Whipping around, she stared into a pair of bright honey orbs, watching her intently. After a moment, she came out of her momentary stupor remembered what had happened in the past few days, and who was the owner of the pair of eyes currently staring at her.

"Eh ... ohayou!" Kagome said cheerfully, not sure how else to respond. She had felt so safe when she first regained consciousness from her slumber, and she could hardly fault him for holding her. Again.

Wondering how someone could be so cheerful so early in the morning, Inuyasha just 'Keh'ed" at her and got out of bed, but not without one last deep breath full of Kagome's tantalizing scent. _/What a way to start a day. I could get used to this./ _he thought secretly to himself, a contented smile tugging at the corners of his mouth.

"Well, obviously Somebody's not a morning person." Kagome muttered to herself, while following his lead and climbing out after him.

"Get ready quickly, we'll be setting off as soon as we finish breakfast." Ignoring her sarcastic comment, Inuyasha informed her. Without waiting for any reply or indication from her, he promptly walked out the door and closed it behind him.

Glaring daggers at the door that he had just went through, Kagome went to wash up. She noticed Inuyasha was already dressed. _/Did he sleep in that? Or had he gotten up to change already? Then why was he still in bed with me?/ _His kimono did not seem crumpled as it would from a night's sleep in it, so she assumed he must have changed then went back lying with her. Realising the last part of her thought, Kagome felt a telltale heat creeping up her cheeks in a blush.

After washing, she noticed a plain white kimono outlined in blue laid out on beside the futon on the floor. [AN: Remember, Inuyasha's room is a traditional room, where the floor is elevated and entirely covered with tatami mats, and people do not wear shoes when entering.] Fingering the kimono, she found it to be a very light and soft fabric. Under the kimono, was a pair of pants. She smiled to herself, seeing that Inuyasha remembered her earlier discomfort at riding on their way to the castle.

After she put the kimono on, she found that it has slits up the side of her legs, allowing better movements. She has never seen a kimono like this before, and reminded herself to ask Inuyasha about it later. Maybe it was a youkai style.

Just then, the door opened to admit Inuyasha with a tray of food into the room.

After finishing breakfast, mostly in silence, they set off for the Northern lands with Kagome riding once again with Inuyasha. This time, unlike when they got back from Hojo's mansion, there was no soldiers accompanying them. This mission is highly confidential after all.

* * *

That was ended rather hastily ... but I'm literally going to faint soon if I don't go to sleep. Fever and cramps and queasy stomach and headache did not add up to a very nice feeling ... =.= 

Sigh I cannot help but fell that the story is going rather too slowly, however, I wanted to build up the characters a bit. It also seems to be focused mainly on Inuyasha/Kagome right now. I just wanted to follow the original Anime/Manga where Kagome and Inuyasha should get close first before Kagome end up with Sesshoumaru. Hopefully the story will move faster later on ...

Story of the day: I was doing volunteer work today at this center with my friends, and we were drawing girls in kimono (For decorating the center for an event later on). After I drew the face for one of the girls ... my friend suddenly said it looked like Sesshoumaru. We were all like "OMG!! It DOES!!!" ... Heheh, I was reading Sesshoumaru fics till 4 am the day before ... probably why I ended up drawing a Sesshie-lookalike ... XD ... soooo me and my friend decorated it more Sesshie like, and ended up with a pretty Sesshie in girl's Kimono ... very nice actually XD That was hilarious. In the end we couldn't keep it sniff it ::Was:: supposed to be girls in kimono after all ... we can't just go and draw Sesshie. However, we kept the face, in the end I think it would actually be how Kagome & Sesshou's kid would look like. I coloured the hair black with blue highlights, and drew the same pattern as Sesshie's kimono on her kimono ... heh If the picture survives the event ... (gonna have lil kids smudging all over it I bet) I want to keep it if I can and put it on the wall beside my Sessie wall-scroll.

Review Response:

From: sliver

Why go with a Sess/Kag? They've been done to death and what about poor Inu? Gonna throw an obvious Mary-Sue "OC" at him or is it the clay pot? Or will you just leave him jealous and very dangerous? Killing him would be kinder to be honest. Besides, she's Inu's slave, who would be within his rights to have her killed or punished if she served someone other than him without his permission, no matter who it is. Personal means personal after all. You're confusing your homonyms, like 'bear' and 'bare', in several places. No gross spelling errors, thank the gods. Many perfectly good stories are ruined by simple spelling. Being young is no excuse, it simply means you didn't pay attention in class. There are such things as dictionaries; you know, the large heavy paper objects that predates the Spellchecker. :) Who all will be making an appearance in this? You never said if Souta was dead, just that she was the only known survivor of her village. All in all, a good story, and I hope to see more of it. Sorry if all I seem to be doing is flaming you, but that is not my intent. I look forward to the next chapter.

First I must say, I didn't think it was a flame at all, and I think you for the constructive criticism. I will try to look out for any errors even more vigilantly in the future. I'm doing a Sess/Kag because currently, that is one of my favourite pairings. I do not like Inu/Kag at all, I don't read it, I don't think they should end up together in the anime, and thus I will not write it. I like Inu, but somehow I just can't see them together. (Probably due to my love for the other Alt pairings.)

Whether or not Inuyasha will end up with anyone at the end of this fic still has to be seen, I have not decided yet. If I'm to put him with anyone, it will be Kikyou. Also, since this is AU, Inuyasha has not met Kikyou yet, and Kikyou's identity is a little different from the Kikyou in the anime.

As for Kagome being Inu's slave, thus she won't be able to have a relationship with anyone else freely, I have already thought of that. She will remain Inu's slave, just for now. .! Let's just say her ownership changes hands along the way.

I love dictionary .com heheh, it's the best! No more flipping papers XD

Most of the main cast of Inuyasha should appear in the story, it is Adventer/Romance, and not just Romance after all. The relationships won't be the only focus in the story. I might bring some of the sub-cast into the story too. I do not like OC, and most probably will not use any OC, so I'll have to use people only from the anime, and this story seems to want to include a lot of people in it Souta, for all purpose and intent, should be dead. If he will appear later ... we'll see. I'm still debating on the issue of whether I will bring him into the story.

I'm glad you liked the story, hope this chapter isn't too bad.

PS: My friend and I have now officially decided that Naraku / Sesshoumaru is one of the Sexist couple ever. (Though she's still contemplating if Yohji / Aya from Weiss Kruez is sexier or not ;; ) [Yes, yes, I'm a yaoi fan.]

Kura


	9. Travelling Again, Sesshoumaru Investigat...

I noticed an error in chapter 3 - A New Master! Kouga said he was Lord of the Eastern Lands when he introduced himself to Kagome, but he was actually supposed to Lord of the Northern Lands! Please disregard, sorry for the error! (Naraku is the Lord of the Eastern Lands.)

Also, I forgot to respond to a review that stated that kit refer to fox when I used the word to refer to Inuyasha in chapter 6. I checked the word up, and found that it does refer to "kit fox" which is a species of fox also called "swift fox" or "Vulpes velox" which is a small burrowing fox. However, the word also means "A young, often undersized fur-bearing animal." which would the meaning of the word used in the context I intended. (It's also short for Kitten too )

If you would like to be notified through email when I update, just let me know in an review (remember to include your email address!) and I'll sign you up or you can sign up yourself at

Some review responses at the end, for those who warrants a response but did not include email address.

"Blahblah" - Dialogue  
-------- Scene change [may go back in time a little to incorporate the POV of another character during the same time.]  
_/Blahblah/_ - thoughts  
[Blahblah] - AN & translations / explanations

Serendipity  
_sometimes blessings are disguised in the most unexpected ways ..._

Chapter 8  
Traveling Again / Sesshoumaru Investigates

* * *

"Inuyasha! What's wrong? Why are you so tense?" Kagome exploded. After almost a day of silent traveling, Kagome finally could not stand the stifling tension anymore. 

For some reason, Inuyasha had been especially strung up since she woke up in the morning, and had ignored her most of the way. When she attempted casual conversation, all she got was a half-hearted "hmm" or "keh" in response. She could not even lean against him to relax as he'd tense up even more when she cuddled against him. The only good thing was that the split kimono allowed her to sit astride instead of sideways on the horse, allowing her a more comfortable position without having to lean into him.

When they had stopped for lunch in a village along the way, she found Inuyasha staring at her when he thought she wasn't looking, and she saw a strange look flash in his eyes a few times. She wondered what's happened to bring on this strange reaction from the easy-going but somewhat rash Inuyasha she had grown to know and like along the way to the castle before.

"Keh! It's just that we're going to see that stupid wolf again, I don't like him." Inuyasha let her know, though that was not the whole truth. Indeed, he was somewhat dreading having to see that wolf so soon, especially with Kagome in tow. He never know if the ookami youkai [wolf demon] would actually try to seduce Kagome away from him. However, the main reason for his tenseness was due to her proximity and his realization the night before. He couldn't very well just tell her that he had fallen for her out of the blue after barely a week of acquaintance; he needed some indication that she felt the same way, and so far she only seem to see him as a friend.

She was also a slave, his slave, his personal slave. She might think he was just after her body, which he did not want at all, especially since he was very drawn to her physically and she might take it the wrong way. Another problem lie with her status as a slave, he needed and way to remove her subduing iron bands and free her somehow. Her status as a slave was too vulnerable, and harm might come to her if it was known that he cared for her.

"Wolf? Again? What do you mean?" Kagome wondered, she only knew they were traveling to send a message to the Lord of the Northern Lands, she was not aware that they had met him before.]

"Remember that youkai who dared to ask to buy you when I found you in that human lord's castle? Unbelievable as it seems that someone as simple minded as him is the Lord of the Northern Lands, he is." Inuyasha half-growled. For some reason, they had just never seemed to get along, right from when they first met as pups centuries ago. They had roughed each other's fur the wrong way within minutes of meeting. Kouga had laughed and tried to grab at his ears, while he had pulled the wolf's tail in retaliation.

"Oh, he's the Lord we're going to see right now?" Kagome thought back to the youkai who had suddenly grab and kiss her hands soon after when she just met Inuyasha. She wondered what kind of person he was, though she felt a bit uneasy at the wolf's blatant interest in her when they first met.

Inuyasha felt the change in Kagome, and put an arm around her waist to try and reassure her. "Don't worry, I'll smash his face in if he tries anything with you." he said gruffly. _/You're mine./_

Kagome smiled to herself, she had a feeling Inuyasha would never let anything bad happen to her if he could help it. Somehow, she just felt so safe around him, like when her father would hold her as she fall asleep when he was still alive. Unconsciously, Kagome leaned back into Inuyasha, seeking his strength and warmth.

Suddenly, she remembered what she had meant to ask him that morning about the strange kimono. "Inuyasha, why do these kimono have slits up the sides? I've never seen anything like them before."

"Most youkai females wear them, along with taijiya females when they needed to appear presentable when they appeared in courts or holdings of lords. The slits allow better movement of the legs when they need to fight, and allow them to ride astride." Inuyasha explained.

"Oh, I see." Kagome nodded slightly in understanding. They spent the rest of the ride in companionable silence, no longer laden with tension as Inuyasha had relaxed to her melodious voice.

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_/Interesting./_ Sesshoumaru thought as he surveyed the huge vertical crater in the side of a cliff where the body of Ryuukossen used to lie, sealed in eternal slumber, all the while remaining stoic as ever. Anyone passing by would have thought him to be an apparition, pristine form seeming to freeze unmoving in time, except for the glowing silver hair that waved languidly in the breeze.

Just as his spies reported, there was no sign that the huge body was moved; it seemed to have just disappeared. He noticed the strange jyaki that was mentioned in the report, which also seemed to have just appeared and disappeared. However, he could track a faint scent leading towards the Eastern Lands.

_/So, it would seem that whoever perpetrated this is in the Eastern Lands. I wonder if that shadowy Naraku know anything about this, I wouldn't put it past him to try and stir up a war just for his sick pleasure. Even though I do not trust in the disturbing rumours about him, the state of the Eastern Lands is a good indication of how dishonourable he is./_

Instead of tracking the scent into the tumultuous Eastern Lands, which he knew would be fruitless and a waste of time, he committed the scent and jyaki to memory so he would recognize it if he came upon it again. Then, he set off to find Toutousai, the famed sword-smith.

_/If there was anyone who knew about the Legendary twin swords of the West, it would be him./_

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Kagome sat with her legs drawn up to her chin, staring into the small campfire Inuyasha had set up. The hanyou is currently sitting in a nearby tree, while their horse was tied to another.

Not turning, still staring into the flickering flames, Kagome decided to sate some of her curiosity that had been nagging at the back of her mind since she first met her current master and found out his background.

"Inuyasha? What kind of person is your brother, exactly?" She inquired softly. She had heard many stories about the Taiyoukai family of the west, and also about the current Lord, one of the few remaining pure blooded Taiyoukai. The stories were plenty and varied, some painted the picture of a ruthless monster that was used to scare children who were naughty, others portrayed a just and honourable Lord who watched out for his people, albeit in his own way.

Kagome had grown up surrounded by intriguing stories and rumours about the stoic Lord. Her mother had been of those who did not think badly of him, often telling Kagome the better sides to this puzzling enigma of a taiyoukai. Her mother did not censor her from his callous treatment and handling of whoever dared to be in his way, but also told her of all that he did which benefited the people of his lands. Kagome had long since been literally itching to know more about this Lord.

She had already missed two chances to find out more about this Lord of so many conflicting tales when she met him before, though the circumstances were rather ill-favoured. She couldn't help but try to sate her curiosity when she's sitting here doing nothing while the brother of her musings was close by.

With his keen senses, Inuyasha have no trouble picking up Kagome's slight inquiry. Feeling somewhat miffed that the girl of his affections was so interested in someone else, his icicle of a brother no less, he answered in a rough voice.

"He's a cold bastard, that's what he is. Though ... I guess it's not really his fault. I think he just doesn't want to ever hurt like that again." Inuyasha gave a start of surprise at what he just said, he had not meant to voice his thoughts. _/What is it about this girl that make me lower all my defenses around her?/_

"'Hurt like that again?' What do you mean?" Kagome's interest was really piped now, and she would not easily give up without a satisfying answer.

"K'eh. It's non of your business." Inuyasha scoffed at her, trying to cover up his lapse in his signature way of being rude.

"I guess its not ..." Kagome replied in a rather hurt voice. She had wanted to give a hot retort, but realised it really was not any of her business, and that she rudely prying into their lives which she takes no part of.

"It is his story to tell, if he ever will." Inuyasha muttered softly, in guilty explanation for causing her sadness.

Kagome gave a half smile when she heard the soft words, understanding Inuyasha's disguised apology.

The rest of the night was spent in comfortable silence, as Kagome soon fell asleep curled up beside the fire under Inuyasha's watchful eyes.

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"Toutousai." A frigid voice pierced through the scorching heat of the volcano, descending like a bucket of freezing water on the tired sword-smith currently drowsing off into slumber after a satisfying day's work.

"What? Who? How?" The old youkai jerked awake, looking around frantically, exhausted brain not registering the glacial presence that stood at such contrast to the rest of the fiery cave.

"Tell me what you know about the 'twin swords of the west'." Sesshoumaru commanded, with barely veiled disgust at the filthy condition of the cave and its owner. He wondered if he really was as good as the rumours said, if he worked in such conditions.

"Ah, yes, Sesshoumaru I believe? You are just like the rumours I have heard." Toutousai took in the emotionless Lord who wore an aura of indifference like a cape, so out of place in his humble little cave.

Sesshoumaru merely sent him his famous death glare, warning him wordlessly that he had better answer or suffer the consequences.

With a gulp, Toutousai hurried to the back of his cave and returned with two plain-looking samurai swords.

"Here are the twin swords. Mind you, don't judge anything by their cover. These two swords are the master piece of my life, forged from the fangs of your great ancestors themselves." Toutousai handed the swords over to Sesshoumaru, who scrutinized them with distain.

Turning his disbelieving gaze to the sword-smith, he clearly transmitted his thoughts to the aged youkai. _/**These** are the legendary twin swords?!/_

"I'm not lying to you! These swords are the Tessaiga and Tenseiga, a sword able to kill hundreds with one swipe and its twin that can heal or revive hundreds with a single swipe. Your father Inutaisho, the former owner of these swords, entrusted them into my care at the beginning of the war not too many centuries ago, with the instructions to give Tessaiga to Inuyasha and the Tenseiga to you if either of you should come looking for them. He did not want them to fall into unworthy hands through the turmoil of that war." Toutousai explained, fearing for his life.

"If I should find any spurious substance in what you have said, be assured that I will not be benevolent." With that, Sesshoumaru left the confines of the sweltering cave with two new additions to the sword at his sash.

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After another day of travelling, Inuyasha announced that they were getting very close to Kouga's pack.

"So soon?" Kagome wondered aloud. Tthey had taken over 5 days to ride to the castle from the Southern lands, why did they only take 2 to reach the Northern lands?

"This is a demon mount that we are riding, and we do not have guards and slaves trailing us this time." Inuyasha guessed her train of thoughts easily, and answered her briefly. He was wounded up again with the scent of wolves near by and coming closer.

Before Inuyasha could warn Kagome, Kouga screeched to a halt in front of them amid a settling cloud of dust.

"Yo puppy, what brings you to my lands? Have you finally came to your senses and decided to give the lady to me as your peace offering?" The wolf youkai taunted Inuyasha with a arrogant smirk.

Inuyasha tightened his hold around Kagome and growled loudly at him, but refrained from entering their usual verbal sparring.

"I am here on business. I bring an important message from Sesshoumaru." Inuyasha growled, itching to put his claws to good use, preferably covered with a certain wolf's blood and guts.

"Sesshoumaru does not want anyone else to know of this, he thinks it might be serious." He added before the wolf demanded him relief his message right there and then where anyone could be discreetly eavesdropping.

"I get it, follow me." In an instant, Kouga's demeanor shifted from playfully baiting Inuyasha to the Lord that he is.

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Settling into the furs in his makeshift cave that was provided for him during his visit of the White Wolves Tribe, Kouga waited impatiently for Inuyasha's message. Kagome had been left in the main den, with strict orders that anybody who dared to touch her would soon be missing their very important appendages.

"What is it?" Kouga demanded, patience had never been his fort.

With a glare, Inuyasha relayed his message in a matter of fact manner, trained by Sesshoumaru himself.

"Sesshoumaru's spy reported that Ryuukossei's body literally disappeared, with faint traces of unknown jyaki around the area. He feels that this might be leading to another war, though I have no clue why he thinks that. He wants me to bring back your response as to what you make of this."

"Ah, this. Yes, some of my wolves have reported similar findings to me. I personally don't think much of it, though I really hope Sesshoumaru's suspicions won't come true. It was a hard struggle to recovered to the current semblance of prosperity after the ruins left by the last war, we don't need another one." Kouga replied thoughtfully.

"Well then, if that's your response, I'll be on my way." Inuyasha briskly left to collect Kagome.

* * *

That was crap. Bad, boring, filler chapter. Oh well, more Sesshoumaru definitely coming up, and I think Kagome is going to change masters pretty soon. Hopefully things will accelerate soon ... which I think it will. 

Author Note:

I'm working with a different background for the characters, so a lot of character development will be somewhat different from how they will end up in the canon universe of the anime/manga. So if someone seems OOC a bit, thats why.

To: DarkLady from and punkinuyashaLVR from (and anyone else interested or wondering)

I know it's a lot of Inu/Kag right now, however, it's only on Inuyasha's part. Kagome will not develop any feelings for him past friendship. In maybe a few chapters, more Sesshoumaru appearance will come forth, and finally some Kagome/Sesshoumaru interaction! I don't want to just throw them together and expect them to suddenly like each other, Inuyasha found her first and so now she's stuck with him! J/K - I think she is going to change hands pretty soon ... .

Thanks to all the reviews! Sorry for the slow moving story, I'm trying to hurry it up too! But somehow all the little details seem to make their way in it .

To sigh up to my Update Mailing List for my fanfics, the URL is on my profile.

- Kura


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